‘We Should Not Be Friends’ offers a rare view of male friendship Literary editor Will Schwalbe’s new book is a tale about connecting across divides — which is particularly heartening in our polarized culture. Read more on NPR

Putinology: the art of analyzing the man in the Kremlin They used to be called Kremlinologists — American experts on the Soviet Union. Now there’s a new generation of Putinologists who seek to interpret Russia by analyzing its authoritarian leader. Read more on NPR

Deaths in custody are a crisis, but data on them is a black hole, a new report says A new report indicates that the federal government severely undercounts people who died while being transported, detained or arrested by law enforcement and those who died while incarcerated. Read more on NPR

After the Ukraine war, what comes next? NATO allies don’t agree The military alliance is publicly committed to preserving Ukraine’s independence. But discussions on how to reach that goal are quietly contentious. Read more on NPR

Red and blue states look to Medicaid to improve the health of people leaving prison People leaving jail or prison are at extremely high risk of hospitalization and death, and policymakers from deep blue California to solidly red Utah think bringing Medicaid behind bars could help. Read more on NPR

Americans want Congress to deal with the debt ceiling. How to do it is complicated A slim majority of respondents in the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll say the debt ceiling should be raised. But they split on whether to cut programs or raise taxes to reduce the national debt. Read more on NPR

A West Virginia bill allowing concealed guns at colleges is one step away from law A bill that would allow concealed weapons to be carried on West Virginia college campuses passed by a landslide in the state’s House of Delegates. It heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice. Read more on NPR

She’s Ukrainian-American. Her relatives are in Russia. Family group texts are awkward For people who have family members on different sides of the war in Ukraine, it’s been a long year of disagreeing, disbelieving and biting tongues. Read more on NPR