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PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

• By Ian Hurley
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• By Pacific Standard Staff
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At 18, Eric Udorie's written about gender rights-related topics for major publications including the Guardian, New Statesman, Fusion.

• By Rosie Spinks

"Being an academic requires the courage to stand behind good ideas despite opposition," says Zhang, who is on our list of the top 30 thinkers under 30.

• By Avital Andrews

Tasche's work directly challenges a lot of the reductionist narratives that swirl around politics and, by extension, the media that covers it.

• By Rosie Spinks

"I honestly think that it will take a person with autism to find the 'cure' to autism, so that the world understands that autism doesn't need to be cured," Toliver says.

• By Avital Andrews

If the world is a global marketplace, Shi's research tries to help make it more efficient and equitable by applying mathematics to assess and improve the way we make decisions.

• By Rosie Spinks

When asked whether he feels people doubt him more because he's young, Slat says, "Yes, but I never felt youth to be a disadvantage."

• By Avital Andrews

"We have a gaping hole, a desperate need for young women in government," says Schrode, who is on this year's list of the top 30 thinkers under 30.

• By Avital Andrews

Safford is committed to applying her talents and work ethic to a noble and necessary goal: using policy to change the way we think about human existence.

• By Rosie Spinks

The 26-year-old's social entrepreneurship centers around jackfruit, a large, green, studded fruit native to Southeast Asia.

• By Rosie Spinks

Rosman co-founded BallotReady, a non-partisan online voter guide with a mission to make it easier for voters to make informed choices throughout an entire ballot, not just the top-ballot race that gets the most media coverage.

• By Rosie Spinks

Rodríguez-Roldán's efforts center on engaging with policymakers throughout Congress and various government agencies to help promote policies that will benefit the trans community.

• By Rosie Spinks

"Education can help harness veterans' patriotic energy in ways that improve our nation," says Reising, who is on our list of the top 30 thinkers under 30.

• By Avital Andrews

Pressler founded the Armed Services Arts Partnership, a non-profit that provides free arts programming for veterans and their families to express their experiences.

• By Avital Andrews

Besides raising money, organizing events, and getting Hollywood bigwigs involved with Homeboy Industries, Caruso spends hours each week with reformed ex-convicts.

• By Avital Andrews

As a Ph.D. at Princeton University, 28-year-old Patton studies arms control and disarmament issues with a particular focus on the role of virtual reality.

• By Rosie Spinks

Peysakhovich's interdisciplinary work is driven by his deep interest in understanding decision-making—both human and machine.

• By Avital Andrews

Pyfrom used her retirement money to buy and customize a bus and outfit it with computers, creating a mobile classroom that she called Estella's Brilliant Bus.

• By Avital Andrews

"One of the philosophies I live by is embracing chaos—or the idea that chaos is just tragedy plus opportunity," says Oliver, who is on our list of the top 30 thinkers under the age of 30.

• By Rosie Spinks

In his work for the non-profit Uplift Internationale, Yrastorza has personally done about 100 facial surgeries, many on preschoolers.

• By Avital Andrews

Initially focusing on Lebanon, where her parents are from, Minkara worked with children who had been overlooked by society owing to their visual impairments.

• By Rosie Spinks

Perry's proactive work in the intersection of gayness, religiousness, and blackness won her an Encore Purpose Prize fellowship, a competitive award for seniors.

• By Avital Andrews

Lim's non-profit, Women SPEAK, cultivates mentorship among young women over subjects like positive body image, healthy relationships, media literacy, and leadership.

• By Rosie Spinks