India’s first elephant hospital, the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital, opened in the Hindu holy town of Mathura, located in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.

Injured, sick, rescued, and elderly elephants now have a home to receive the care that they need. The facility is run by non-profit Wildlife SOS. Wildlife SOS also runs a conservation and care center near the newly opened hospital, and is currently home to 22 elephants.

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The Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital was designed with the needs of our four-legged friends in mind. The 12,000-square ft. facility contains x-ray, thermal imaging, and ultrasound machines, tranquilization devices, a hydrotherapy pool, an in-house pathology lab, and quarantine facilities.

The hospital will even enable remote patients to receive care. “Our hospital has center with very portable kind of machinery,” explains Geeta Seshamani, Wildlife SOS co-founder. “So if an elephant is hit-and-run very far away anywhere in North India, we can go there and we can take care of it on site itself.”

“The hospital is something really special because for centuries India has used its elephants and abused them,” added Seshamani. “Today, for the first time, we can offer them a place where we can heal them and take very good care of them.”

Among those abused elephants who will find a safe haven at the Wildlife SOS Elephant Hospital will be elephants who were abused in captivity, elephants who were turned into tourist attractions, and elephants who were involved in freeway accidents.

“These elephants go through a lot of abuse, brutality, cruelty in order to be ridden,” Wildlife SOS co-founder Kartick Satyanarayan said in a BCC interview. “And through that process, they develop abscesses, internal problems, back problems, all kinds of health issues that need to be addressed.”

Between 50 and 60 percent of Asia’s wild elephants reside in India. Just 20 percent of domesticated elephants call the country home. With such a large elephant population, conservation should be at the forefront, especially since India’s elephant population is on the decline. In 2012, India’s elephant population was 29,391 – 30,711. By 2017, it had fallen to 27,312. World Wildlife Organization estimates there are as few as 20,000 in 2022.

Elephants are highly revered as both cultural and religious symbols in India, however they have been subjected to brutal mistreatment.

Some fall victim to the wildlife trade, while others are mistreated by mahouts (caretakers). Others are poached, poisoned, or electrocuted.

“I think by building a hospital we are underlining the fact that elephants need welfare measures as much as any other animal,” Seshamani told Reuters TV. “That captive elephants are not meant to be used and abused but instead have to be given the respect which an animal needs if you are going to be using the animal.”

You can watch the BBC News story on YouTube below:

This article originally appeared on 11.27.18

Since the beginning of the pandemic, for these years when touring was non-existent and then heavily altered, one of the prevailing musical narratives has been artist growth and sustained momentum. Shelved albums lost their moment, while someone like Taylor Swift went into high production to come out the other end into a new career peak.

Then there are people like Zach Bryan, whose career was taking off just as the world was closing down. After going viral with a YouTube video in 2017, he offered up his debut album in late 2019 and just kept releasing music at a feverish pace. He’s now released four full-lengths — his latest, a self-titled affair, is out today — along with two EPs, a live album, and numerous singles. Just in Los Angeles, he went from a 2,000-cap room to an arena in a year, while turning up in homes on several episodes of Yellowstone as both soundtrack and performer. He’s become one of the fastest-rising and most exciting stars in music, all while barely granting an interview or playing to many of the typical industry games.

This was apparent in IRL fashion at Staples Center on Wednesday — still not calling it Crypto.com Arena, sorry/not sorry — with a sold-out show that saw fans wearing their finest hats and boots. And while the wardrobe might have matched a typical country outing, his music and the show are anything but traditional. The audience sings along to literally every song in a Swifftian manner — maybe the link here is recent prolific production, or maybe it’s just great songwriting — while the decision to perform in the round gave the large space a sense of intimacy that is rarely felt on a large scale. For his part, Bryan pulled out all the stops, beginning the show by acknowledging the birthday of the venue’s most famous alum, Kobe Bryant, and later inviting Maggie Rogers to perform their standout “Dawns” together.

A lot has been written and said about country music’s current chart dominance, and how much of it is centered on political dog whistles, layup covers, or, you know, Morgan Wallen. But Zach Bryan is a different breed, doing things a different way. “Something In The Orange” is a legit country radio hit, but he seems more along the Kacey Musgraves/Sturgill Simpson path in terms of fan appeal, centering his music above all else in the manner of Chris Stapleton. These are all arena-level country stars who don’t fit into an easy box, people who idolize Willie and Waylon and Patsy. But, he also is drawing fans from the post-stomp-clap Americana realm, sometimes evoking a similar sonic territory as Ryan Adams, just without the asshole connotations.

All that is to say that Zach Bryan is a lot more than America’s next great country singer or songwriter, he’s a must-see phenomenon with appeal that transcends genre. In concert, it’s infectious and instantly apparent. He didn’t perform a single song off the new album of Wednesday night, despite it being two days from release. He’s literally turning out the tunes faster than he can support them. And while during the pandemic it became difficult to know what streaming sensations had real-world appeal, Bryan has left nothing ambiguous. He’s a bona fide star, and he’s only burning brighter.

Check out some photos from Zach Bryan in Los Angeles below.

Zach Bryan is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Who is your favorite Upper East Sider who hangs out with older men, has cool outfits, and loves Samantha Jones? That’s Selena Gomez in Only Murders In The Building, of course, but perhaps you were thinking of that other show. It’s okay, sometimes there’s sex in the building and murders in the city. That’s how life works.

Gomez recently released a new single, aptly titled “Single Soon,” a catchy pop track about being single and heading out on the town, but the music video features a nod to a notable Sex and the City moment.

At the beginning of the video, Gomez is sneaking out of the apartment of her alleged partner, leaving behind a familiar yellow post-it that says “I’m sorry I can’t Don’t hate me.” Sound familiar? Like your heart is breaking at brunch all over again???

The move was a nod to a season six episode of Sex and the City when Carrie is broken up with via the same note. The breakup went down in Sex and the City history as one of the cruelest/silliest moments of the show, though it was integral to the plot. Before dropping the video, Gomez also posted a TikTok of herself using a Samantha Jones sound bite –which Kim Cattrall herself “approved.” What would Che Diaz say?

The rest of the music video features Gomez out on the town with her pals, and no, Steve Martin and Martin Short did not show up to party. But there’s always next time. Check out the video below.

(Via EW)

Oliver Anthony, the overnight star whose song “Rich Men North Of Richmond” has accidentally become an rallying cry for the conservative movement, remains nonplussed at the song’s success among the more unsavory elements of the nation’s political participants. After the song was played to open the Republican Presidential debate on Wednesday night, the bashful musician posted a video to YouTube admitting that the song’s use during the debate was “funny.”

After some preamble explaining his current circumstances and musing about how “dirty” the music industry apparently is from his outsider’s perspective, he addressed the debate situation head-on. He expressed frustration that the song had taken on such a political bent over the past few weeks and politicians trying to use him for clout.

“It was funny seeing my song at the [Republican] presidential debate, because I wrote that song about those people,” he admitted. “So for them to have to sit there and listen to that, that cracks me up. It was funny seeing the response to it. That song has nothing to do with Joe Biden — it’s a lot bigger than Joe Biden. That song is written about the people on that stage — and a lot more, too. Not just them, but definitely them.”

While he hates to see the song being “weaponized,” and doesn’t enjoy being used as a political prop, his heart seems to be in a decent enough place, despite everything (both sides-ism and demonizing welfare recipients — the same people who are experiencing food insecurity — isn’t reeeeeally the solution here, bud, no matter what Fox News tells you).

You can see the full video up top.

Group G at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is notable for one main reason: the defending champions and current No. 1 team in the world are in it. Despite learning that star guard Ricky Rubio will not play in the tournament as he tends to his mental health and the Gasol brothers no longer being part of the national team program, Spain has been on fire in recent years, as the team took home gold at the 2019 World Cup and are the reigning champions of the Europe after they won EuroBasket in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, Spain are the clear favorites to make it out of the group, while Brazil are the overwhelming favorites to take second and both Iran and Ivory Coast face an uphill climb. Here are the full odds for a group winner, via DraftKings.

Spain -700
Brazil +400
Iran +5000
Ivory Coast +6500

Here, we’ll go through Group G and identify the players and games you need to check out.

Players to Watch

Bruno Caboclo (Brazil): No longer two years away from being two years away in the NBA, started to carve out a nice career for himself in Europe, as he’s coming off of a league title in Germany and an All-Basketball Bundesliga First Team nod. During qualifying, Caboclo was remarkably productive for the Brazilians, as he averaged 14.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game. Brazil has a proud basketball heritage and aspirations of using the World Cup as a way to earn a spot in the Olympics, and if they can make some noise, the play of their former first-round pick will be a big reason why.

Behnam Yakhchali (Iran): While some players on Iran’s roster (namely Hamed Haddadi and Arsalan Kazemi) might be more well-known to American fans for their exploits in the NBA and college ball, Yakhchali is the straw that stirs the drink for the Iranians. He was instrumental to their ability to qualify for the World Cup, as he was the third-highest scorer in Asian qualifying at 19.1 points per game. His ability to fill it up and provide some offensive firepower is going to be crucial to Iran’s chances of moving on.

Vafessa Fofana (Ivory Coast): A guard-heavy Ivory Coast team has aspirations of making it out of the preliminary round for the first time in history. They are a consistently strong side at the FIBA Africa Championship (they won a silver medal in 2021) and rolled through qualifying, with Fofana being crucial to their efforts. A forward who plays his professional ball in France, Fofana averaged 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds a game in qualifying.

Rudy Fernandez (Spain): Fernandez is no longer as prolific as he was earlier in his career. Regardless, he’s an institution in the world of Spanish basketball and should help fill the leadership void that is going to exist due to Rubio’s inability to play in the World Cup. He’s a heady, crafty veteran, and we’ll see what he can do in what should be one of his final tournaments with Spain.

Willy Hernangomez (Spain): The reigning EuroBasket MVP, Hernangomez has turned into the star of Spain’s national team. He was outstanding as Spain went on to win its last tournament en route to becoming the No. 1 team in the world, and with Rubio out, he’ll have to shoulder an even larger load as the team looks to defend its gold medal at the World Cup.

Schedule/TV Info (all times EST)

Aug. 26
Iran vs. Brazil, 5:30 a.m., ESPN+
Spain vs. Ivory Coast, 9:30 a.m., ESPN+

Aug. 28
Ivory Coast vs. Iran, 5:30 a.m., ESPN+
Brazil vs. Spain, 9:30 a.m., ESPN+

Aug. 30
Ivory Coast vs. Brazil, 5:30 a.m., ESPN+
Iran vs. Spain, 9:30 a.m., ESPN+

Game to Watch

Brazil vs. Spain: It’s hard to imagine any of the teams in this group beating Spain, even with Rubio not playing. If anyone can do it, it would be the Brazilians, which have a handful of current and former NBA players on their roster and are coming into the tournament riding a shocking upset of another team with aspirations of winning gold, Australia. Again, you should not assume that Spain are going to lose at all in the group, but the best thing about group play in international tournaments is that one bad day can get punished very easily.

The CW used to be the home of every millennial teen soap your early 2000s hearts could ever want: Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill, and even the disastrous 90210 reboot that nobody ever likes to talk about because of that one unfortunate scene with Meghan Markle. Now, the network just lands HBO’s leftovers.

But the network has also been messing around with some of its last few fan-favorite shows, like Nancy Drew, which just aired its series finale after four seasons. Executive producer Larry Teng took to X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) to express his frustrations with the network.

The producer explained that The CW didn’t tell the crew that they were going to cancel the series until a “random call 3/4 into our season.” One of the actor’s agents called CBS Studios (the production company behind Nancy Drew) in order to make some scheduling decisions, but that’s when the new CW president Dennis Miller said “Oh, we’re not picking you up, the show is too expensive.”

Teng explained further, “Had our Studio not made that call, who knows if we would’ve ever been told. At that point in the season there were only four episodes left to shoot, and the writers were already breaking the finale,” Teng wrote on X. “What a f***ing s****y way of telling us we were getting canceled. Thank God the Studio called. Because you all deserved the most proper ending possible. That’s why I praise the writers for pulling it together at the end. It was so glib.”

The EP continued to address the fans of Nancy Drew, which began airing in 2019 and had a pretty dedicated fan base known as the Drew Crew (also a Philadelphia-based HVAC repair company, but that’s different).

“No consideration for letting Noga and Melinda give you a proper goodbye. No closure. No consideration for the fandom who support and watch this show. I’ve been pissed at the upper brass of this new CW since November. They suck. They have every right to turn a profit, which means canceling shows. But to have clearly known in advance and not tell us until a random call 3/4 into our season is just plain f****ing disrespect. I’m glad y’all enjoyed the finale. You deserved that. Long live our #Drewds and the #DrewCrew.”

It doesn’t take an amateur sleuth to see how poorly The CW handled the situation, though the network has been in the midst of restricting some of its content after some major cancellations last year. Now that Riverdale is gone and Nancy Drew has clocked out, what are people going to watch? Criss Angel’s Magic With The Stars hasn’t even been renewed….yet.

(Via Variety)

The best new hip-hop this week includes albums, videos, and songs from City Girls, Earl Sweatshirt, Open Mike Eagle, and more.

This week, we’ve got one of the quirkiest collections of new hip-hop in a while. After last week included new music from the likes of longtime critical and fan favorites like Noname and Trippie Redd, new releases this week came from a motley crew of avant-garde indie rap mainstays like Count Bass D, Earl Sweatshirt, Fat Tony, and Open Mike Eagle.

However, that isn’t to say there aren’t plenty of more mainstream offerings to go around. While a rumor that Drake’s latest was due this week turned out to be false (obviously), we did get new stuff from Gucci Mane (with J. Cole!) and Mike Will (“There I Go“), Lil Yachty (“Tesla“), City Girls (“Face Down”), Luh Tyler (“Rapper Of The Year“), and even Iggy Azalea (the surprisingly good “Money Come“).

Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending August 25, 2023.

Albums/EPs/Mixtapes

Earl Sweatshirt & The Alchemist — Voir Dire

Perhaps the title of this joint project between Earl and Alchemist bodes well for those who were disappointed to learn it’s a Gala Music exclusive. After all, “voir dire” is a legal term meaning “a preliminary examination of a witness or a juror by a judge or counsel,” which means that perhaps there’s more on the way. For those of you still all-in on blockchain, you’ll get exactly what you expect: hazy beats, abstract rhymes, and rebellious spirit.

Fat Tony — I Will Make A Baby In This Damn Economy

While a certain other Nigerian rapper from Houston might be getting all the attention at the moment, Fat Tony continues to approach indie rap from a wholly unique perspective. Produced entirely by LA-based Taydex, I Will Make A Baby finds Tony spitting short, sweet observations on a variety of subjects. You may notice a running theme developing with this week’s artists.

Jaboukie — All Who Can’t Hear Must Feel

Standup comedian/actor Jaboukie adds another job to his resume with 13 tracks of experimental, dance-influenced reflections on identity, masculinity, and sexuality. It also has, for my money, some of the best, most interesting music of the avant-garde releases this week. Check out our interview with Jaboukie here.

Open Mike Eagle — Another Triumph Of Ghetto Engineering

Continuing this week’s odd tradition of exceptionally long, wordy album titles, the flag-bearer for “art rap” himself, Open Mike Eagle, follows up 2022’s A Tape Called Component System With The Auto Reverse with another compilation of stream-of-consciousness storytelling and off-kilter observations about the quirks of life that we take for granted in the ‘hood.

Sauce Walka — Dat Boy Den

Watching Sauce getting more and more professional over the last year or so has been heartening like nothing else. There are a lot of rappers from the South operating in a similar lane, but few have as much charisma and personality as Sauce. The pieces are starting to fall into place for him, and I can see a huge breakout on the horizon. Dat Boy Den is another step in the right direction.

Singles/Videos

Audrey Nuna — “Locket”

The Korean-American rising star deftly rides the line between futuristic, experimental pop and energetic, forward-facing hip-hop. Nuna continues to grow as an artist, approaching the music with an outsider’s ear for fresh angles, but ingrained respect for what’s come before.

D Smoke — “Work Hard, Play Hard” Feat. SiR

The Inglewood brothers take a tropical vacation in the video for the previously released single. Perfectly for a song about celebrating their self-made success, “Word Hard, Play Hard” presents an enviable getaway from the rigors of the grind.

Rexx Life Raj — “Backslide”

The Berkeley rapper gets back to flexing after dropping last year’s cathartic and melancholy The Blue Hour. Here, Raj’s consistently slick lyricism allows him to put a fresh spin on the usual rap boast topics of wealth and luxury.

Tyga & YG — “PARTy T1M3”

Nothing too surprising here, just good, clean fun and an upbeat party anthem comprised of a cleverly cut down sample of Nas’ “Oochie Wally” and an R&Bass break certain to set some booties motorboating on the dance floor. The Compton rappers’ chemistry remains impressive.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Thanks in part to visual platforms like TikTok and Instagram, over the past few years quesabirria (or birria tacos) went from a regional Central Mexican phenomenon to America’s favorite way of eating tacos. Thanks to its sumptuous red broth, grilled and melted cheese, and braised beef filling, birria is the sort of food that you can taste just by looking at it — which is part of the reason why it spread on social media the way it did.

Because of its popularity, birria taco joints have popped up across the US and, like any super popular food, the big fast food brands want in. So far, it’s been a bumpy ride — El Pollo Loco dropped birria tacos last year, kind of botched the job, and returned this year with a slightly revamped recipe that was admittedly, pretty good, but still failed to capture what makes birria so special.

The problem? Birria is a dish made from slow braised meat which is fried in the stewed juices of that meat. Meaning it doesn’t exactly fit the fast food model of things that cook quickly and cleanly. But that doesn’t mean brands are going to quit trying to crack the code, and the latest attempt comes from Taco Bell which dropped its birria-inspired Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco this month.

“Birria-inspired” because even Taco Bell admits, this isn’t birria, but it has some of the touchstones of the dish. It features shredded beef that is slow-braised and juicy, sports grilled melted cheese on the inside and outside of the tortilla, and is designed to be dipped. Unfortunately, you won’t be dipping this taco in birria consommé like El Pollo Loco. Instead, Taco Bell wants to you dip it in either its red sauce or nacho cheese sauce, and the tortilla, while fresh fried, is not cooked in the broth of the braised beef.

But even though this isn’t birria by any measure, it’s certainly interesting enough to inspire curiosity. We ordered the taco to see how it stacks up to the real thing. Check our full review below!

Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco

Thoughts & Tasting Notes:

It’s a sad sight and a far cry from birria. Luckily, it tastes better than it looks. After the initial explosion of grease, your taste buds will be met with a savory beef flavor backed by a creamy jalapeño-infused sauce, and Taco Bell’s nutty, creamy, and salty three-cheese blend. The tortilla is super light and crispy — serving as mostly texture and making way for the richer flavors of the ingredients. Dipping the taco in nacho cheese sauce or red sauce doesn’t really enhance the experience, which is unfortunate because this is designed to be a dipping taco.

I found both sauces pretty one-dimensional, the cheese sauce just adds a salty component to the mix, while the red sauce adds an ultra mild sense of heat, like enchilada sauce, but not quite as spicy as one of Taco Bell’s hot sauce packets. If you’re going with one sauce, I’d say hit the red sauce, but truthfully the taco doesn’t really need it, the jalapeño sauce that comes in the taco is more than enough.

Taco Bell’s shredded braised beef is a significant improvement over its ground meat and carne asada, it’s the brand’s best take on beef so far. Hacks with this mean in other dishes are sure to come soon. While I don’t think the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco will earn permanent menu status, the beef is used in a few other dishes and deserves to be on the menu permanently.

Will it in any way remind you of birria? Not at all, but for what it is, it’s pretty damn good and my current go-to at Taco Bell.

The Bottom Line:

If you divorce it from its inspiration — the birria de res taco — this thing is delicious. It’s greasy, juicy, beefy, and cheesy, easily Taco Bell’s best taco currently on the menu. That said, the best fast food version of the birria taco is still El Pollo Loco’s Shredded Beef Birria,

Find your nearest Taco Bell here.

Lagers are the closest thing the beer world has to an “all-rounder.” Crisp and refreshing on a hot day; malty and warming on a cool night. There’s no wrong time of year for a well-made lager. That being said, there’s just something extra special about an ice-cold lager on a hot summer’s day. Whether it’s a pilsner, pale lager, Helles lager, or even a Vienna lager, we love them all. Especially as summer begins to turn the corner towards fall.

Esteban Molano, bartender at Mayami in Miami agrees. Specifically, he prefers a pilsner on the waning summer days and nights.

“The lager family and the Pils type is the one I recommend this time of year since they have a light body and have little toasted malts that give them great freshness and are easy to drink.”

Other bartenders have their own preferences for end-of-summer lagers. That’s why we asked some of our favorites to tell us their favorite, refreshing lagers for the remaining summer days ahead. Keep scrolling to see all of their picks.

New Glarus Two Women Lager

Alex Barbatsis, bartender at The Whistler in Chicago

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Two Women Lager from New Glarus Brewing in Wisconsin is so refreshing and has a biscuit note that really rounds out the fruit flavors. It’s a wonderful beer that’s only sold in Wisconsin, but luckily, it’s a quick drive from Chicago.

Tasting Notes:

It’s known for its nose of toasted grain and floral hops as well as a palate of cracker-y malts, honey, citrus, and floral hops.

Fort Point Yuzu KSA

Michael Carlisi, beverage director at Barrio in San Francisco

ABV: 4.3%

Average Price: $17 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Fort Point in San Francisco makes a Yuzu KSA that is outstanding. Super light, citrusy and refreshing, it’s the perfect companion for a trip to a pool, beach, lake, or river.

Tasting Notes:

This mix of a classic Kölsch-Style Ale and yuzu juice is crisp, refreshing, and has just a hint of tart yuzu to make it an exciting, unique warm weather beer.

Trumer Pils

Shiva Thapa, head bartender at Miller & Lux in San Francisco

ABV: 4.9%

Average Price: $9 for a six-pack

The Beer:

A German-style Pilsner, Trumer Pils is the best lager for a hot summer. A malt mashing process and proprietary yeast make Trumer Pils very unique in the beer world.

Tasting Notes:

With great hops flavor and a lighter body, it is brewed with a combination of Saaz and Austrian hops. It has the taste of a classic European lager and is perfect for a hot day.

Narragansett Lager

Jared Bailey, bar manager at Soho Cigar Bar in New York City

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $7 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

Hailing from the ocean state, an ice-cold Narragansett cannot be beat especially after a long day on the beach. It’s the perfect pick-me-up to get the night going. Crisp, refreshing, and perfect.

Tasting Notes:

The beer most famous for being featured in ‘Jaws’ is filled with cracker-y malts, sweet corn, citrus peels, honey, and floral hops.

Dovetail Helles

Phillip Miley, beverage curator and general manager at 1308 in Chicago

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $9 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

I love Dovetail Brewery’s Helles. They make such great beers. The Helles is super light and crisp and has such awesome malt flavors. It gets its hop flavor from the addition of Saphir hops.

Tasting Notes:

Dovetail’s flagship Helles has aromas of cereal grains and floral hops and a palate of citrus peels, sweet malts, and floral, herbal, and piney hops.

The Tank La Playita

Stephanie Torres, assistant director of food and beverage at The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort in Miami

ABV: 5.1%

Average Price: $13 for a six-pack

The Beer:

La Playita from the Tank Brewing Company in Miami is a crisp, flavorful, German-style lager that’s great for a beach day.

Tasting Notes:

Its distinct flavors of ginger and lime, finished with burnt sugar, offer a unique tasting experience on the palate.

Pilsner Urquell

Mitchell Patmagrian, lobby lounge bartender at The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes in Orlando

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

Pilsner Urquell is no doubt the best lager for a hot summer day. I personally have one or two bottles or maybe even a 6-pack when mowing my one-acre lawn. Crisp, balanced, and perfect for a hot day.

Tasting Notes:

The original pale lager, it’s fresh, full of flavor, with the perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness.

Modelo Especial

Deke Dunn, bar and creative director at Allegory in Washington, DC

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $9 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The best summer lager is Modelo Especial. It’s light, refreshing, and cheap. It’s tough to beat an easy-drinking Mexican lager on a hot, end of summer day or night.

Tasting Notes:

It has a great, crisp finish and it goes down way too easily. Grab a couple limes if you want to turn up the summertime vibes, but there really is nothing better.

Common Roots Lager

Graham Christie, bar manager at The Gem in Bolton Landing, New York

ABV: 5.2%

Average Price: $11 for a four-pack of 16-ounce cans

The Beer:

My go-to Lager on a hot summer day is from Common Roots Brewing Company. It is a German-style Helles Lager, so it is light, crisp, and always refreshing on a hot day.

Tasting Notes:

Its light bitterness and crisp, slightly citrusy notes make it infinitely drinkable and extremely refreshing.

Pacifico Clara

Pedro Pozo, beverage director of Grupo Bakan in Miami

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

The best lagers come from hot places, although there is some debate within Mexico itself as to who makes the best beer. Pacifico is my choice for a hot day, it has the lightest body while still delivering the flavor and refreshment expected from a great lager.

Tasting Notes:

Bready malts, sweet corn, honey, citrus peels, and gentle, herbal, piney hops make for a refreshing summer sipper.

Sapporo Lager

Mercedes Cowper, certified sommelier and bar manager at Round Robin Bar in Washington, DC

ABV: 5%

Average Price: $9 for a six-pack

The Beer:

For a guest looking to have a light, easy-sipping beer, I suggest a Sapporo lager from Japan. Top it off with Sprite (frequently offered at pubs in England circa 2009) to make it a summer shandy-like beverage. Or just drink this refreshing, crisp, flavorful lager on its own.

Tasting Notes:

It’s known for its sweet rice, citrus, honey, and floral, hoppy flavor profile. It’s a unique lager well-suited for end of summer heat.

The Stockyards Cerveza Royale

Chase West, restaurant manager at Percheron in Kansas City

ABV: 4.5%

Average Price: $10 for a six-pack

The Beer:

When you think of Mexican-style lager your mind goes to Corona or Modelo. The Stockyards Cervesa Royale (from a local KC Brewery) is a personal favorite because not only is it locally sourced, but it tastes great.

Tasting Notes:

The light-bodied, crisp flavor pairs perfectly with the summer heat. Hand me a cold glass and lime wedge with this beer and I won’t be leaving until we run out.

We’re taught that “traditional love” goes something like this: Be a virgin, find a soulmate, get married, NEVER CHEAT, share resources, have kids, and dance at your 50th wedding anniversary.

It’s a lot of pressure. And, frankly, if it really worked that way, divorce rates would be at 0%.

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Love, as we know it, doesn’t work the same way for everyone.

Chris Ryan, co-author of “Sex at Dawn” puts it like this: “You can choose to wear shoes that are too small, but you can’t choose to be comfortable in them.”

In other words, our outdated beliefs about the nature of sex and relationships could be hurting many of us.

“Sex at Dawn” was published in 2010, but people are still talking about it.

The book looks into prehistoric human sexuality — it studies the behavior of bonobos and other primates in order to get at the true origins of human love. Though readers loved it for offering a more positive vision of evolutionary psychology than ones proposed by Darwin, Hobbes, and Freud, the book isn’t without its critics.

Still, as a filter for anyone trying to make sense of modern love, “Sex at Dawn” has a lot to offer.

Some of the insights in “Sex at Dawn” might surprise you, some might comfort you, some may shock you. It’s an interesting journey into the prehistoric past, and it might sound more familiar than you’d expect.

So let’s enter the shame-free zone and discover seven things about love that everyone — single, married, and everything in-between — really needs to know.

1. Competition was never about who was the biggest, strongest, or richest.

Competition for mates didn’t happen in our everyday actions, according to “Sex at Dawn.” It all took place inside … not our heads, but our bodies! The competitive advantage for males, prehistorically, wasn’t decided in the ring of life, with men competing for wealth, status, and resources to woo a lady.

It was decided … INSIDE THE FEMALE BODY. From the book:

“Rather, paternity was determined in the inner world of the female reproductive tract where every woman is equipped with mechanism for choosing among potential fathers at a cellular level.”

So ovaries are the original matchmaker? And what they’re matching is the right biological match from prehistoric ladies casting a very wide sex net?

The book is right when it states that this theory “turns the standard narrative inside out and upside down.”

2. The friend zone isn’t real.

Though the book mostly offers observations, it does posit one solution to the problem many societies have with thinking of female sexuality as property. You know the kind — frustrated Internet commenters complaining about being put in the friend zone (as if they had some prior claim to sex with a woman but the zoning commission came and denied that access to them).

According to the authors, there’s a way out.

“If you’re unhappy at the amount of sexual opportunity in your life, don’t blame the women. Instead, make sure they have equal access to power, wealth, and status. Then watch what happens.”

3. It’s totally natural to miss or still have strong feelings for your exes.

Back in the prehistoric day, it’s believed that there wasn’t really any such thing as an ex, because there wasn’t really any such thing as a relationship.

In the olden days, a man wouldn’t have even known for sure if he was a child’s dad. He (and every other dude — and lady for that matter) would have more likely just assumed that they were each child’s parent and provided and cared for them accordingly.

“… we hypothesize that Socio-Erotic Exchanges [forms a] crucial, durable web of affection, affiliation, and mutual obligation. In evolutionary terms, it would be hard to overstate the importance of such networks.”

So if you find yourself getting that old feeling, just chalk it up to some prehistoric memories of communal village life, in which overlapping relationships were more like a ’70s rock band tour bus.

“For professional athletes, musicians, and their most enthusiastic female fans, as well as both male and female members of many foraging societies, overlapping, intersecting sexual relationships strengthen group cohesion and can offer a measure of security in an uncertain world.”

4. Ladies make the first move.

Just not in the way you probably think.

It’s all biology, baby. Meredith Small, an anthropologist cited in the book, suggests that during fertilization of a woman’s egg, the egg actually may be reaching out and enveloping the sperm.

How’s that for making the first move?

She goes on to emphasize:

“Female biology … even at the level of egg and sperm interaction, doesn’t necessarily dictate a docile stance.”

5. Sexuality can be selfless.

Sex, in prehistory, was a way to bond your community together and provide a stable place for all the community’s kids to grow, according to “Sex at Dawn.”

I know. I’m a little scandalized by this as well. I’m a Methodist girl from Missouri; all this monogamish stuff is blowing my mind. But bear with me.

A story of elite World War II pilots stands out as an example of prehistory bumping into modernity.

In World War II, the book notes, elite pilots were facing the highest fatality rates in the military. They had wives and families; they had a community. But every time they went to fight, they risked abandoning and possibly hurting that community in their death.

How’d they respond? These elite fighter pilots started to ease up on the strictness of their marriages and began some of the first “key parties” on record. Rather than being scandalized, author Chris Ryan was moved.

“It was so moving to think about what motivated them to open their marriages with other couples. They were cultivating these webs of love, or at least real affection, because they knew that some of the men wouldn’t survive the war, and they wanted the widows to have as much support and love as possible. This confluence of selflessness and sexuality seemed to connect so directly to the hunter-gatherer groups, where men also have a high mortality rate from hunting accidents, falls, animal attacks, and so on. It was an unexpected yet very clear reflection of the distant past.”

6. The whole “women want resources and men want novelty” yarn is kind of contrived.

It’s more subtle than that. And also, rude! This myth implies that all women trade sex for stuff, and that’s not cool.

“As attentive readers may have noted, the standard narrative of heterosexual interaction boils down to prostitution: a woman exchanges her sexual services for access to resources.”

Monogamy and relationships are assumed a default in our world. But they’re not — they’re a convenience born out of humans switching from hunter-gatherer mode to agriculture mode. The authors explain:

“… upheavals in human societies resulting from the shift to settled living in agricultural communities brought radical changes to women’s ability to survive. Suddenly, women lived in a world where they had to barter their reproductive capacity for access to the resources and protection they needed to survive.”

Interesting. And totally outdated.

The good news is because this possessiveness isn’t an innate human thing, that means just as we were conditioned INTO objectifying and commodifying women, we can condition ourselves right on out of it.

7. Sex doesn’t have to be so serious.

As Ryan said in an interview with Dan Savage, “We hope [the book] encourages and empowers people to give themselves a break, to cut themselves and their partners some slack.”

“We need to chill out. Like music, sex can be sacred but it doesn’t always have to be. Sometimes we hear God in a Bach toccata, but sometimes we’re just dancing and having a good time listening to the Rolling Stones. Nothing sacred about it.”

If you try sometimes, you get what you need. GIF via The Rolling Stones.

This book is an interesting read, and it definitely provides a different lens on the way human sexuality came to be.

This article originally appeared on 02.12.16