Oregon’s natural beauty belies a nasty history. Slavery was never ratified, but the state made a point to exclude anyone who was Black or multiracial from living, working or owning property in its constitution. Matt Novak explains at Gizmodo…
2015
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Definition of a Dictionary
In a two-story brick building in Springfield, Massachusetts, a team of definers, etymologists, pronouncers, daters, typists and lexicographers are hard at work on the long-awaited fourth edition of America’s premier dictionary. But perhaps their most important definition is still in the works: what should an online dictionary look like?
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Fire on the 57 Bus in Oakland
Sasha Fleischman—who identifies as agender, neither male nor female—was set on fire by a fellow teenager while riding a city bus home from school. With the flick of a lighter, two families lives were changed forever.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Wild Country: Remembering Edward Abbey
The author and environmental activist Edward Abbey, who passed away in 1989, would have been 88 today. Abbey—who Larry McMurtry dubbed “the Thoreau of the American West”—was known for his searing love of wilderness, particularly the deserts of the Southwest, and his progressive views. An excerpt from Desert Solitaire, his most famous non-fiction work, can be […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Rush After ‘A Rape On Campus’: A UVA Alum Goes Back to Rugby Road
Jia, an alumnus of UVA, visits the campus during rush week after the Rolling Stone rape story controversy.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Chasing Abbey
Doug Peacock reflects on the life of his friend and fellow author and environmentalist Edward Abbey from a trail high in the Himalayas.
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Quotes
‘In the Name of Our Own Fear’: Eula Biss on Vaccination, Privilege and Fear
In light of the recent measles outbreak in California, I want to share this interview with Eula Biss, author of On Immunity. After the birth of her first child, Biss’ research turned to vaccination, and she ruminated on a culture in which no man, woman or child is an island. Michael Schulson interviewed Biss at Salon.
Posted inNonfiction
Long Live Grim Fandango
The greatest adventure game ever made returns from the dead.
Posted inNonfiction, Story
Long Live Grim Fandango
The greatest adventure game ever made returns from the dead.
Posted inCollege, Nonfiction
Annotating the Mind Behind ‘Genius’: Our College Pick
After Rap Genius cofounder Mahbod Moghadam was forced out of the company for writing horrible Tweets about a spree killer’s manifesto, the public’s interest shifted to the next misuse of social media.