OZY Daily Dose

When Nicolina Delgadillo started her company BeeSmart in 2018, she knew that being an entrepreneur would be difficult. “Being a female and a Latina is hard work multiplied 10 times over,” she tells OZY, “Even though it is an exciting time to be a Latina boss.” Today, Delgadillo is in good company: Latino business owners are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the country. To honor Hispanic Heritage Month, in today’s Daily Dose we dive into the rise of Latino-owned businesses by speaking with cutting-edge entrepreneurs who are putting the pedal to the metal and highlight the little-known game changers.

Nelson Mandela knew the power sports have to bring change and used it to build the foundations of South Africa’s post-apartheid Rainbow Nation. “Sport can create hope where once there was only despair,” the Nobel laureate once said. Today, just a glance at the biggest stars of the most popular sports is enough to see that change is coming faster than ever. Racism and machismo have long been a bitter reality in top-tier sports. But a new generation of athletes — from rodeo athletes to refugees and hoopsters to hitters — is fundamentally changing the way our favorite sports look. In today’s Daily Dose, we share some of the most stunning changes transforming the world of sports.

Sure, politics can often seem like little more than a popularity contest where participants frequently promise more than they can deliver. But in a world beset by life-or-death challenges ranging from COVID-19 and climate change to sectarian violence and hunger, some leaders are trying something different. In today’s Daily Dose, we’re looking at some of the more innovative steps political leaders around the world are taking to try to fundamentally reset the destinies of their nations — from a Caribbean premier who’s building a republic out of a former colony to a Kosovan mayor bridging ethnic tensions with language and culture. You might not agree with everything they’re trying. And it’s likely not all of these initiatives will succeed. But the world needs bold, new ideas and these officials are leading the way.

For all intents and purposes, our bodies are supermachines meant to perform many complex tasks on a daily basis, far beyond our comprehension. But supermachines are still machines and as such, they are prone to breakdowns without routine maintenance and software upgrades. This is where wellness and other health sciences come in. They help us oil our bodies and keep them running in the best shape — because wellness is the key that unlocks the door to maximizing our potential, all things being equal. In today’s Daily Dose, we meet fascinating entrepreneurs creating new products inspired by old customs, check out the traditional treatments that influenced them and bust myths that have circulated for years in the wellness and diet industries.

Summer is coming to a close in the Northern Hemisphere. But as the evenings draw in and temperatures fall, there’s never been a better time to curl up with a book and enter a world not of your own making. The international literary world has never been as diverse — or downright interesting — as it is today. That’s why we’ve collated for you, dearest OZY reader, some of the best new reads from Argentina to Zimbabwe and many fascinating places in between. Read on because we guarantee you this: There’s no list as interesting as ours.

Hollywood might be America’s greatest soft power export, but when it comes to the depiction of Latin America and its culture, the mega film industry has largely served to harden shallow stereotypes about a diverse region and its people. Which is why, to truly get Latino culture, you need to tune out of popular — and often sadly inaccurate — American tropes and tune in to today’s Daily Dose. Indigenous rappers, quinoa sushi and cannabis-infused teas are transforming Latin America’s cultural and gastronomic landscape even as brave activists work to preserve the region’s astonishing natural beauty. Celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month by diving deeper than salsa rhythms, Caribbean beaches and pisco sour for a sensorial journey to a stunning part of the world that’s in flux.

Sleep, exercise, therapy and antidepressants are some of the top remedies prescribed to assist the 1 in 4 Americans who struggle with mental health issues. But while these are all critical and effective tools, are they enough? After all, suicide is among the leading causes of death in the U.S., especially among the younger population. Perhaps it’s time we tried something different.

Like superheroes, supervillains also love their toys . . . because even those bent on sowing mayhem have preferences Criminals choose these items for their utility, symbolism or, believe it or not, even as product placement.

College sports are back. Take it from fans of the Virginia Tech Hokies. On Sept. 3, close to 70,000 of them screamed out the team’s entrance song, “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, at the 2021-22 season opener against the UNC Tar Heels. The Virginia Tech crowd was so amped up that their rendition of the rock classic registered as a seismographic activity for Blackburn, Virginia. But there are other tremors reshaping college sports. How will the U.S. Supreme Court’s summer ruling allowing student-athletes to make money from sponsorships play out on campuses? From colleges rethinking the role of sports to game-changing legal cases, this Daily Dose gives you a courtside view of the shifts that could fundamentally alter the relationship between the NCAA, school campuses and athletes.

Soon after our reporter Sohini Das Gupta turned 8, she stopped eating fish. In her Bengali household — a famously fish-eating lot — it was quite the scandal. Sighs were sighed and investigations launched, as her parents tried to figure out what could have gone wrong. Then, at the pinnacle of her fish resistance, her grandmother cooked doi maach: tender pieces of freshwater fish, soused in a yogurt-based gravy of robust east Indian spices. I polished off every last bit. If anyone could achieve the dubious union of fish, curd and an unlikely surprise ingredient she’s not at liberty to disclose right away, it had to be her thammi (Bengali for grandma). This quality extends to grandmothers everywhere: Bustling Italian nonnas or plate-piling Somali bibis, they possess the superpower of turning humble ingredients into morsels most magical. Join us today for classic food stories from kitchens made redolent by grandmothers, from America to Japan with delicious pit stops in between. Pstt: We even managed to source some pantry tricks from grandmas of our own OZY tribe! From Sohini Das Gupta