Happy Wednesday! These are the Daily Links we’re getting into this morning…


Collage by Ruby Aitken, using a photo via Reuters.

Collage by Ruby Aitken, using a photo via Reuters.

Nineteen-year-old musician Negin Khpalwak has become one of the only female music conductors in Afghanistan, leading an all-women orchestra in face of severe and often violent opposition. The Zohra orchestra comprises 35 players whom Khpalwak has been leading for the past six months. Her determination is not just inspiring but indomitable. A direct quote: “I will never accept defeat. I will continue to play music. I do not feel safe, but when people see me and say, ‘That is Negin Khpalwak,’ that gives me energy.”

Photo via Everyday Feminism.

Photo via Everyday Feminism.

This essay by Kai Cheng Thom on discrimination against sociopaths, borderlines, and psychotics is the most impactful piece of writing I’ve come across in a while, casting a rare, empathic light on these popularly feared yet little discussed manifestations of mental illness. —Ragini Nag Rao

Still from All This Panic.

Still from All This Panic.

Check out the documentary All This Panic. It follows the sister-pair Ginger and Dusty and five of their friends and explores what it’s like to grow up in New York City. —Patrick Ferris ♦