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

Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox.

* * *

1. Where Are the Children?

Sarah Stillman | The New Yorker | April 20, 2015 | 37 minutes (9,381 words)

Undocumented migrants are being held for ransom by extortionists who know that they aren’t likely to report the crime.

2. The Skin I’m In

Desmond Cole | Toronto Life | April 21, 2015 | 18 minutes (4,700 words)

A black Canadian man reflects on a lifetime of police interrogations and the high social cost of police carding.

3. Surely You Can’t Be Serious: An Oral History of Airplane!

Will Harris | The AV Club | April 17, 2015 | 62 minutes (15,708 words)

The original creators and cast of the satirical disaster film Airplane! share stories about how the hit 1980 comedy came together.

4. The Upwardly Mobile Barista

Amanda Ripley | The Atlantic | April 22, 2015 | 35 minutes (8,811 words)

Starbucks and Arizona State University launched an experiment to help workers get college degrees—but paying for college was just one of many challenges that employees face in trying to go back to school.

5. Exile of the Bohemians

Ian S. Port | Radio Silence | April 23, 2015 | 21 minutes (5,330 words)

A brief history of the Bohemian, and whether artists in San Francisco have a future.