Photo: ZPM Espresso

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

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1. ZPM Espresso and the Rage of the Jilted Crowdfunder

Gideon Lewis-Kraus | New York Times Magazine | April 30, 2015 | 22 minutes (5,555 words)

A Kickstarter project gets fully funded by backers, who become irate and consider legal action when the project fails to deliver. The creators explain what went wrong.

2. Tony Wheat Has Been Sorry for So Long

James Ross Gardner | Seattle Met | April 27, 2015 | 25 minutes (6,364 words)

Tony Wheat is Washington state’s longest incarcerated inmate and was once on death row for the murder of three gas station attendants. He has spent the last 50 years trying to serve others in jail, winning the respect of corrections staff and fellow prisoners.

3. From Ferguson to Baltimore: The Fruits of Government-Sponsored Segregation

Richard Rothstein | Economic Policy Institute | April 30, 2015 | 8 minutes (2,084 words)

It’s not just about the police: A brief history of how cities, including Baltimore, experienced “a century of public policy designed, consciously so, to segregate and impoverish its black population.”

4. Inside the Story of Ethan Couch and the ‘Affluenza’ Phenomenon

Michael J. Mooney | D Magazine | April 27, 2015 | 22 minutes (5,576 words)

On June 15, 2013, an inebriated 16-year-old named Ethan Crouch slammed into four people with his truck, killing them instantly. During his sentencing hearing a psychologist infamously blamed his bad behavior on “affluenza,” a portmanteau describing the psychological problems that can affect children who come from money. Mooney takes us behind the story.

5. Have We Seen the End of the 8-Hour Day?

Nathan Schneider | The Nation | April 22, 2015 | 14 minutes (3,540 words)

Since the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 enshrined the 40-hour week, hours have tended to be taken for granted in the fight for employee rights. Unpredictable scheduling and “involuntary part time” have brought hours back to the forefront, putting them at the heart of a new national movement.