As The National unflinchingly traversed the depths of listeners’ anxieties and self-doubts, its indie empire held strong. The alternative rock staple – composed of Matt Berninger, Aaron Dessner, Bryce Dessner, Scott Devendorf and Bryan Devendorf – electrified Griffith Park on Wednesday for the second Los Angeles stop of its tour celebrating the band’s album, “First Two Pages of Frankenstein.” Despite the tour’s peg to the group’s ninth album, the 26-song set list made space for shiny new songs and reliable classics, reminding the audience of the band’s poignancy and potency as an indie powerhouse with longtime fans.
Guest author Neha Krishnakumar describes how the sun can have life-changing effects on one of the most unlikely parts of Earth: whales. The effects of solar storms are thought to increase the number of whale strandings that occur each year.