The Angle

The Angle: Broken Heart Edition

Slate’s daily newsletter on the death of Debbie Reynolds, adults in playgrounds, and a 2016 playlist.

People photograph one of the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars for actress Debbie Reynolds on Thursday in Hollywood, California. 

DAVID MCNEW/AFP/Getty Images

RIP: Debbie Reynolds died on Wednesday at age 84. We’ve been watching five of her best musical numbers, and paying special attention to the stellar “Good Morning,” from Singin’ in the Rain. (Reynolds once wrote that filming “Good Morning” was the hardest thing she’d done, “besides childbirth.”)

Science of a broken heart: It feels intuitive that Reynolds, who died a day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, might have succumbed to grief. Jeremy Samuel Faust writes that there is actually a syndrome for that: “takotsubo cardiomyopathy.”

Disliked: How can Democrats capitalize on Donald Trump’s unpopularity, and the unpopularity of the entire Republican policy agenda? Jamelle Bouie has some ideas.

Kids only: Elissa Strauss looks at Los Angeles’ proposed ban on childless adults in playgrounds, finding only fearmongering and increased isolation for parents and kids living in a culture that segregates them from adult life.

For fun: Carl Wilson’s 2016 playlist.

125 songs, 8 hours,

Rebecca