Happy Friday, Racket readers. As always, it&#8217;s time for our weekly open thread, where you talk amongst yourselves, unfettered by demands of relevance. No lie—seeing you all interact here has become a highlight of the week. Not to make it all about me, but while you&#8217;re all gabbing here, I&#8217;ll be slipping out today to…

Guess What I’ll Be Doing Today While You Chat on the Friday Open Thread?

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Jay Boller

Opinion

You Must Rank the Seasons in This Week’s Open Thread

Matthew Cunningham-Cook is a journalist and active in the labor movement. He has been published in The American Prospect, The Nation, The Intercept, In These Times, The Lever, Jacobin, Al Jazeera, and The New York Times. He currently works as associate director and labor educator at Labor Education Service, Minnesota Carlson. The views expressed are his own.

Matthew Cunningham-Cook

In the Fight Against Fascism, Here’s Why Minnesota’s Unions Matter

Keith Harris

Uh Oh, It’s an Open Thread About Dating

Myrl Beam is a south Minneapolis parent and organizer with Minneapolis Families for Public Schools. He is faculty in the Women&#8217;s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at Macalester College.

Myrl Beam

Hey, Minneapolis Public Schools: Show Us the Numbers Behind Your Proposed Slash-and-Burn Cuts

Andrew Zimmern has spent decades proving that food can be a powerful force for cultural understanding and social change. An Emmy-winning and James Beard Award-winning television host, chef and food advocate, he brings boundless curiosity and deep empathy to his exploration of global cuisine on his acclaimed shows, including the Bizarre Foods franchise, The Zimmern List, What’s Eating America, Family Dinner, and Wild Game Kitchen. His work extends far beyond television into restaurants, publishing, and philanthropy, all driven by his conviction that shared culinary experiences can bridge divides and create lasting change.

Andrew Zimmern

Sysco-Restaurant Depot Merger Is a Rotten Deal for Restaurants

Em Cassel (she/they) is a cyclist, a metalcore apologist, and a co-owner and editor of Racket.

Em Cassel

Tell Us About Your FAILURES in This Week’s Open Thread

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Racket Staff

Podcast

RacketCast, Ep. 62: What the Hell’s Going on in Forest Lake? Feat. Educator/Rocker Claire Luger

Jessica Armbruster

News

Proposed MPS Closures: ‘An Assault on our Students’ Sense of Security’

Britt Robson believes that basketball is a beautiful game and will use that framework—when beauty blooms and when it is besmirched—to cover the Minnesota Lynx. It is the way he has covered the Minnesota Timberwolves since that franchise&#8217;s second year of existence, for publications too numerous to count but most recently <a href="https://www.minnpost.com/author/britt-robson/">MinnPost</a>, plus regular appearances on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@DaneMooreNBA">Dane Moore NBA Podcast</a>. He has also written about music and politics, including hundreds of bylines for City Pages back in the heyday, giving him kinship with the Racket ethos.

Britt Robson

Sports

2026 Minnesota Lynx Postmortem: How’d the WNBA’s Best Team Implode in the Playoffs?

Events

Freeloader Friday: 127 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Watch Becca Good Speak Publicly for the First Time About ICE Killing Her Partner Renee Good

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It’s a Very Special Back to School Open Thread