Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist.
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1. A Brand New World In Which Men Ruled
Jodi Kantor | The New York Times | December 23, 2014 | 27 minutes (6,797 words)
Examining the gender gap in the tech industry through the lens of Stanford University’s pioneering class of 1994.
Also recommended from the NYT: “The Unbreakable Laura Hillenbrand” (Wil S. Hylton)
2. Knives, a Death, a Famous Name
Christopher Goffard | Los Angeles Times | December 22, 2014 | 23 minutes (5,900 words)
Former California Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez was once considered the most powerful lawmaker in California. This two-part series examines whether political influence trumped justice when Nuñez’s son Esteban was charged in the 2008 stabbing death of 22-year-old Luis Santos.
3. Ground Truth
Ben Montgomery | Tampa Bay Times | December 18, 2014 | 26 minutes (6,568 words)
In a neglected Florida cemetery, a search for the lost boys of a brutal reformatory school and the reasons why they died.
4. Martin Brest Directed Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run. Then He Vanished.
Matt Patches | Playboy | December 23, 2014 | 19 minutes (4,812 words)
A look back at the director’s greatest hits (Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run, Scent of a Woman), his misfires (Gigli), and what caused him to disappear from Hollywood.
5. Among the Reindeer
Laura Galloway | More Intelligent Life | December 25, 2014 | 14 minutes (3,560 words)
A woman running a media consultancy in New York takes a DNA test and learns that she is descended from the Sami people, who herd reindeer in the Arctic Circle.
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