This week, we’re sharing stories from Connie Bruck, the San Francisco Chronicle Staff, Justin Heckert, Kent Babb, and Rob Harvilla.
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1. Alan Dershowitz, Devil’s Advocate
Connie Bruck | The New Yorker | Aug 29, 2019 | 55 minutes (13,878 words)
“The noted lawyer’s long, controversial career—and the accusations against him.”
2. One Day, One City, No Relief
San Francisco Chronicle Staff | San Francisco Chronicle | July 31, 2019 | 37 minutes (9,371 words)
For this story, 36 San Francisco Chronicle reporters spent a 24-hour period meeting members of San Francisco’s homeless community in the shelters, the streets, and on public transit to help paint a portrait of the city’s growing homelessness crisis. From the chronically homeless — those who have lived on the streets for more than a year — to young families struggling to get by in a city with skyrocketing rents, to students living in vans to get through school and military veterans seeking peace from their demons, this disparate group of people share a goal: to satisfy their basic needs for food, shelter, and safety on a consistent basis.
3. How to Save a Loggerhead
Justin Heckert | Garden & Gun | Aug 1, 2019 | 13 minutes (3,300 words)
Voldemort was not an amenable turtle, at first. He thrashed his right front flipper in defiance at the humans who wanted to touch him as he held his injured left flipper close to his body. He craned his head over his shoulder, his mouth open, and his eyes seemed to squint in frustration. “He was starving,” Boylan said, “and he was really pissed off.”
4. Driven to the End
Kent Babb | The Washington Post | July 29, 2019 | 24 minutes (6,052 words)
Urged from a very young age to excel, Olympic cycling medalist Kelly Catlin committed suicide at age 23. ‘“I suspect a large part of why I am the way I am — both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ — is our childhood environment,” she wrote. “We are triplets. And we are, none of us, truly functional. … Those parched for affection from a young age do not quickly heal. I shall say no more.” “So what do I want?” she had written. “Love.”’
5. How “Summer Girls” Explains a Bunch of Hits — and the Music of 1999
Rob Harvilla | The Ringer | July 29, 2019 | 23 minutes (5,800 words)
LFO’s breakout song is remembered today primarily as an ode to Abercrombie & Fitch and the girls who wore it. But there’s a deeper story behind the light-hearted song—one that includes tragedy and paints a picture of what music was like at the turn of the century.
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