Our summer issue of Martha’s Quarterly, 12 bpm (breaths per minute), explores questions of air conditioning, quality and circulation, issues more urgent than ever in our new era of COVID. This issue features an excerpt from historian Joseph Siry’s article on the installation of air conditioning in the U.S. Senate and House; Aerica Shimizu Banks, policy lawyer and creative connector, has contributed an essay on community and environment through the lens of the nail salon; and artist Tess Elliot has included both an essay on NASA’s research on air quality for its space stations fueled by the energy crisis of the 1970s and a virtual reality experience around a snake plant and a nail polish bottle. - Passenger Pigeon Press