Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist.

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1. Dear Kate

Nancy Comiskey | Indianapolis Monthly | November 14, 2014| 26 minutes (6,625 words)

A parent’s lessons on living with grief, 10 years after her daughter died.

2. Bonfire of the Inanities

Jacqui Shine | The Awl | November 13, 2014 | 44 minutes (11,232 words)

A history of the New York Times Styles section.

3. Whipping Boy

Allen Kurzweil | The New Yorker | November 13, 2014 | 29 minutes (7,428 words)

Kurzweil’s 40-year search for his school bully.

4. All Dressed Up for Mars and Nowhere to Go

Elmo Keep | Matter | November 9, 2014 | 39 minutes (9,916 words)

The troubling truth about Mars One, a company that is planning to send humans on a one-way trip to Mars.

5. The Passing of the Indians Behind Glass

Francie Diep | The Appendix | September 18, 2014 | 15 minutes (3,767 words)

Science writer Francie Diep on why natural history museums are taking down their indigenous cultures dioramas—and how dioramas themselves found their place in museums.