Author: Shekari Philemon

Heart disease has long been framed as a condition that primarily affects men, but that framing has never told the full story. Women face a distinct and layered set of risk factors, many of which are tied to biological changes that occur across a lifetime, from reproductive health to hormonal shifts in midlife. Understanding those factors is the first step toward doing something about them. Here are eight contributors to heart disease risk that cardiovascular specialists say deserve far more attention. Hormonal changes The most significant cardiovascular shift many women experience in midlife is hormonal. Estrogen plays a protective role…

Most people think of stress as a mental burden — something that clouds thinking, fuels anxiety and makes sleep harder. What is less commonly understood is that stress produces measurable physical changes throughout the body, and the cardiovascular system bears some of the heaviest consequences. When the brain perceives a threat, real or imagined, the body activates a survival response designed to prepare for immediate action. Hormones flood the bloodstream, the heart rate climbs, blood vessels narrow and blood pressure rises sharply. The body cannot distinguish between a genuine emergency and the pressure of a difficult workday. It responds the…

From the outside, the household just seems to run. Appointments are made, problems get solved before they become crises and the daily machinery of family life moves forward without obvious drama. What the outside view does not show is the person who made all of that happen before anyone else was awake, who is still running the mental checklist at eleven at night and who has become so skilled at keeping everything intact that nobody around them has any real sense of how close to the edge they actually are. This is the invisible weight of being the one who…

Four years is a long time to keep an audience waiting, and Euphoria has arrived back on HBO with all the style and controversy that defined its earlier seasons — along with a critical reception that suggests not everyone is convinced it was worth the wait. The nine-time Emmy-winning drama, which once felt like a cultural earthquake for its raw portrayal of teenage drug use and sexuality, is now navigating the more complicated territory of living up to its own legend. Most of the Euphoria cast has returned, including leads whose careers have expanded considerably during the hiatus. Critics have…

Television’s awards conversation has a new question at its center, and it involves two of the medium’s most dominant performers. With Euphoria and Hacks both premiering new seasons on the same night, Zendaya and Jean Smart find themselves in rare and parallel territory — each within reach of winning an Emmy for every single season of their respective series, a feat no woman has ever accomplished. The only performer in Emmy history to win an acting award for every season of a series spanning three or more seasons is Bill Cosby, who took home trophies for all three seasons of…

The collapse of US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad has left the Trump administration with a narrow and unappealing set of options, none of which promise a swift or decisive outcome. Rather than stepping back, the White House is pressing forward with a plan to impose a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz — a move that carries serious risks for the global economy and for American consumers already feeling the pressure of rising prices. The administration had entered talks hoping to secure major concessions from Tehran, including a formal commitment to abandon nuclear weapons development and an agreement to reopen…

There is a particular kind of woman most people have encountered at some point, in a workplace, a social circle or a family gathering. She seems unshakable. Her work is immaculate, her composure is consistent and she never appears to be struggling, even when everything around her is. From the outside, it looks like ease. From the inside, it is often something else entirely. Psychologists who study overcontrolled coping styles have found that what presents as effortless competence is frequently the product of significant and invisible effort. The composure is real, but it is not natural. It is managed, carefully…

The ongoing divorce between rappers Cardi B and Offset has taken a dramatic turn in court. According to recently obtained court documents, Offset filed a request for a paternity test on the baby boy that Cardi B welcomed last November with NFL wide receiver Stefon Diggs. A judge has since denied that request, bringing a fresh wave of attention to a split that has rarely been out of the headlines. The court order, issued in late February, lays out several rulings tied to the couple’s divorce proceedings. While the paternity test involving the Diggs baby was rejected, the judge did…

Cardi B’s Washington D.C. tour stop on April 8 delivered more than just a great show. It delivered a moment that the internet has not stopped talking about. Stefon Diggs, the former NFL wide receiver and Cardi’s ex, was spotted in the crowd at Capital One Arena alongside his younger brother Trevon Diggs and their mother, Stephanie Diggs. Video of the group enjoying the performance circulated widely, showing the family dancing along as Cardi worked through her setlist. What happened after the show drew even more attention. Diggs attended the afterparty at a Washington D.C. venue later that evening, and…

SpaceX is preparing to go public in what could become the largest initial public offering in history. The company outlined the contours of its plans during a meeting with its banking team this week, revealing an ambition to raise $75 billion at a valuation as high as $1.75 trillion. If achieved, that figure would far surpass the previous record set by Saudi Aramco, which raised $29 billion in its 2019 offering. The roadshow is expected to launch the week of June 8, when company executives and their banking partners will begin pitching the offering to institutional investors. SpaceX plans to…