Wake to Washington

We're gonna need a bigger boat

The new International Spy Museum is now open!

Step into the shoes of a spy at the completely reimagined and totally immersive Spy Museum, now at L’Enfant Plaza. Get advance tickets online.

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When it rains it pours

• Yesterday’s rain indeed set fearful records: It was a month’s worth of rain in less than two hours.

• Over a thousand homes lost power at some point and dozens of people had to be rescued from submerged cars and flash flooding.

• “Commuter chaos” included water cascading into Metro and cars stalling out on Constitution. 

• As the city pushes towards urban resiliency, events like these remind us that extreme weather is already here. 

Pizzeria-with-a-purpose

There’s a new pizzeria coming to H St, and it will be staffed entirely with deaf employees. Mozzeria has been a longtime dream for restaurateurs Melody and Russ Stein, who wanted to create opportunities for the Deaf community, many of whom face employment discrimination. Grab a slice when the restaurant officially opens next year just blocks from Gallaudet. 

May the odds be ever in your favor

In a city with prohibitively high rents and a shortage of affordable housing, it’s not surprising that co-living has become a popular option for renters in DC. But hopefuls looking to snag an open room in one of the District’s eclectic group houses often have to prove their worth through a cutthroat and often inscrutable audition process—Kafkaesque Google Forms, joyless rounds of Apples to Apples, and potential roommates judging the shit out of your beer choices. 

We do too have bodegas

What exactly qualifies as a bodega (versus a green market or corner store) can be ambiguous, but DC definitely has bodega culture. While not as concentrated as New York’s, our stores, like Morazan Groceries in Petworth and Millie’s Market in Capitol Hill, have sewn themselves into the fabric of the neighborhood as institutions that build relationships and comfort within our communities.

A house becomes a home and then a house again

Architecture in Alexandria: Frank Lloyd Wright built what was to be known as the Pope-Leighey House in 1941 for the Pope family, whose son tragically drowned shortly after moving in. Devastated, the owners sold the house to another family, the Leigheys, who had to fight to save the house from destruction due to building I-66. The house was eventually donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who disassembled and reassembled the house twice, finally settling in Alexandria where it’s now open to tourists.

• Wright designed the house with the goal of building something affordable for the average American. Take a virtual tour. 

Also || Transit equity east of Anacostia, “the shadow world of scooter chargers,” PRX’s Podcast Garage looks for community manager, city proposes demolishing public housing, tech incubator 1776 moves back to DC, Grosso first CM to call for Evans’ resignation, your Venmo is probably not private and can really reveal a lot (h/t Data is Plural)

Under the Georgetown Sun(set)

Put up your “out of office” message and join Diane Lane’s emotional journey with a sunset screening of Under the Tuscan Sun, the first of many vacation-themed flicks in Georgetown’s outdoor summer movie series. Your abandoned villa in rural Italy awaits! (8:30pm)

RBG headlining National Book Festival

The full lineup for this year’s National Book Festival on August 31 has been announced, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be on the main stage to discuss her book, “My Own Words.” Mark your calendars now to get there early - there’s sure to be a line to capacity well before she takes the stage. (August 31)

Capital Fringe begins

The local theater festival kicks off more than three weeks of programming. Highlights this week include an 18-act play based on Howard Zinn, a Shakespeare adaptation by a Simpsons writer, magic tricks and mentalism, and much much more. 

Breaking down Brecht

Bertold Brecht, the crown jewel of weird German theatre, is getting deconstructed at the Goethe-Institut. His plays and poems have been extremely influential in pop culture. In the US Louis Armstrong adapted a song from one of his plays into this jazz standard. (8:00pm)

Also || The Welders: LadyM | A History of Laughter comedy walking tour | profs & pints: hunt for nazi uranium | Story District @ Black Cat | Sankofa + #DontMuteDC press conference