This week, we’re sharing stories from Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah, Ellen Pao, Henry Wismayer, Taylor Harris, and Jeff Maysh.
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1. A Most American Terrorist: The Making of Dylann Roof
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah | GQ | August 21, 2017 | 48 minutes (12,206 words)
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah’s harrowing feature explores not only the background of Dylann Roof, who murdered nine parishioners of Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church in 2015, but also the racial and social identities that still prevail throughout the South.
2. This Is How Sexism Works in Silicon Valley
Ellen Pao | New York Magazine | August 20, 2017 | 21 minutes (5,400 words)
In this excerpt from Ellen Pao’s upcoming book, she traces her six years at the Silicon Valley firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers as a junior partner and chief of staff, and the relentless harassment and sexism she witnessed as she rose to the top.
3. Grenfell Was No Ordinary Accident
Henry Wismayer | CityLab | August 17, 2017 | 10 minutes (2,614 words)
Henry Wismayer reports on the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, the worst fire disaster in London since the Blitz during World War II. To outsiders, London, England may appear to be a “a paragon of functioning multiculturalism,” however the Grenfell fire has become England’s “Katrina moment” — the catastrophic event which exposes society’s egregious treatment of and contempt for its poor.
4. Talking to My Daughter About Charlottesville
Taylor Harris | Catapult | August 23, 2017 | 7 minutes (1,903 words)
Black UVA alum Taylor Harris writes about explaining the racist violence on the Charlottesville campus to her 6-year-old daughter, who hadn’t yet personally encountered racism or ever learned about racist violence.
5. The Cop Who Became a Robber
Jeff Maysh | Los Angeles Magazine | August 22, 2017 | 20 minutes (5,245 words)
A 70-year old retired detective started robbing banks in his free time. Now his time’s no longer free. They call him the Snowbird Bandit. Why did he turn to crime?