This week, we’re sharing stories from Alec MacGillis, Karen Hao, Rebecca Solnit, Mary H.K. Choi, and Andrew Buss.
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1. The Lost Year: What the Pandemic Cost Teenagers
Alec MacGillis | ProPublica | March 8, 2021 | 38 minutes (9,654 words)
“In Hobbs, New Mexico, the high school closed and football was cancelled, while just across the state line in Texas, students seemed to be living nearly normal lives. Here’s how pandemic school closures exact their emotional toll on young people.”
2. How Facebook Got Addicted to Spreading Misinformation
Karen Hao | Technology Review | March 11, 2021 | 26 minutes (6,600 words)
“The company’s AI algorithms gave it an insatiable habit for lies and hate speech. Now the man who built them can’t fix the problem.”
3. John Muir in Native America
Rebecca Solnit | Sierra Magazine | March 2, 2021 | 16 minutes (4,210 words)
“Muir’s romantic vision obscured Indigenous ownership of the land—but a new generation is pulling away the veil.”
4. My Parents Got Sick. It Changed How I Thought About My Marriage
Mary H.K. Choi | GQ | March 2, 2021 | 12 minutes (3,068 words)
“All the pain of the past year taught me something: the true nature of intimacy.”
5. Bad Reputation: An Oral History of the Freaks and Geeks Soundtrack
Andrew Buss | Consequence of Sound | March 8, 2021 | 38 minutes (9,600 words)
“Judd Apatow, Paul Feig, Michael Andrews, and the cast and crew turn things up to 11.”
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