4 things we’re reading this week

By Boston.com Staff

February 7, 2016

1 minute to read

Welcome to the latest installment of a series where we point you to what we’ve found fascinating, amazing, entertaining, and interesting this week.

Futbol Americano: Heading into Super Bowl 50, the NFL has seen Spanish-speaking viewership increase 17 percent since 2012. [Marketplace] –Adam Vaccaro

A thorough history of great (and socially important) jokes. Here is a fantastic chronicle some of the 100 most important jokes – including scenes, skits, monologues, and one-liners – that helped shape modern humor. Highlights include: Charlie Chaplin’s dancing dinner rolls in The Gold Rush; Archie Bunker’s famous meeting with Sammy Davis Jr. in All in the Family; “Springtime for Hitler’’ from The Producers; “I’ll have what she’s having’’ from When Harry Met Sally. [Vulture] –Sanjay Salomon

Re-writing the lexicon of addiction: Even as 2016 presidential candidates share their personal stories of family members and friends who have struggled with drug or alcohol abuse, advocates in Massachusetts are pushing to change the language around addiction. Language, they argue, has to change in order to address and change the stigma associated with addiction. [The Boston Globe] –Dialynn Dwyer

Donald Trump’s immigration policy may resound in New Hampshire: If you were surprised by Scott Brown’s endorsement of Donald Trump last week — well, you shouldn’t have been. The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman wrote a smart piece looking at how the former Massachusetts senator went against the grain in his 2014 Senate campaign, finding an audience for his urgent warnings of an unsecure southern border in primarily white New Hampshire. Turns out, Brown was just setting the precedent in the state for Trump’s controversially harsh immigration proposals. [The New York Times] –Nik DeCosta-Klipa