It's getting dangerously, fatally, hotter. In Bamako, Athens, Santiago, Mexico City, Podgorica, Mecca, Rio de Janeiro, Paraburdoo, Delhi, Toronto, San Salvador, Beijing, Dubrovnik, Skikda, Rome, Cairo, Trenton, and many other places, 2024 temperatures are deadly and breaking records. What are your techniques, strategies, methods, neat tricks for dealing with the heat? Or just write about whatever is on your mind, in your heart, or on your plate, because this is your weekly free thread, fellow MeFites.

Fifteen-year-old Darlene hadn't been in a classroom since fourth grade. She worked 11-hour days at a chicken restaurant, a step up from the slaughterhouse where she'd worked when she was younger. Every paycheck went to her parents who turned it over to the prophet. Everything the hardworking people did was in service to the prophet and to build up the church. Darlene's future was determined for her: She'd be a wife and mother, and serve the church and her husband. from This Is Not an Escape Story [Runner's World; ungated]