It’s getting hot in here.

Happening in the World: The Guinness World Records has crowned Pepper X as the hottest chili pepper in the world. The Carolina Reaper chili pepper has been dethroned. In lab tests at Winthrop University in South Carolina, Pepper X has achieved an impressive average of 2,693,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Mr Currie, one of five in the world to eat an entire Pepper X, spoke to the Associated Press about his experience eating the pepper. It was unbearable. (BBC)

Happening in the US: Three members of a Californian family have plead guilty for their roles in a “national network of thieves, dealers and processors” who shipped $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey. In recent years, thieves across the US have been slithering under vehicles and swiping catalytic converters, which remove the worst toxic pollutants from a car’s exhaust. (NYT)

Happening in NYC: Staten Island is slated to secure the first new subway cars in 50 years. The MTA is rolling out “cutting-edge cars” on the Staten Island Railway. The new cars were part of an order MTA made in an ongoing effort to modernise the system and make rides more reliable. (Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: Columbia University is facilitating an online session which discusses how to write a podcast script! The workshop will explore the ways in which you can incorporate research into your script for academic podcasting. Register here!

Peppers via Bwog Archives.