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This week’s picks from Emily includes stories from Rookie, Brain Pickings, The Millions, and The New York Times.

New fiction from Dave Eggers, adapted from his new novel The Circle, about a woman hired to work for a social network: “Dan winced. ‘No, it’s not that. You handle your workload just fine. But we missed you at the Industrial Revolution party last Thursday night, which was a pretty crucial team-building event, centered on […]

The writer talks to teenage girls and boys to get an understanding of the effect that social media and dating apps have had on teens and their views on sex: “‘The thing with social media is, if a guy doesn’t respond to you or doesn’t, like, stalk you back, then you’re gonna feel rejected,’ said […]

Palmer reflects on the difficulties studying NRMs (New Religious Movements)—not just how to get inside, but how to not be forced into taking sides or having one’s credibility questioned: “As a mature researcher, somewhat scarred from my forays into that embattled terrain known as the cult wars, I am now ready to make a confession. […]

The writer on his experience being on the game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?”: “Did I mention on my questionnaire that I could perform a serviceable impression of Chewbacca? Did I offer that up to them as proof of my willingness to give them whatever they wanted in exchange for a chance at […]

Six syllabi from journalism professors on what you should be reading. Are you teaching a course? Share yours in the comments.

Pierson, nearly killed by a drunk driver, has recovered to become the head of a new tech company called Declara: “Over time, and more than 100 surgeries, Pierson’s body improved. She had procedures to fix her eye socket, nose, and teeth. ‘One of my doctors did Wilt Chamberlain’s nose,’ Pierson says. ‘My face seemed to […]

Ballooning in the 19th century. Adapted from Levels of Life, a book by Julian Barnes about love, loss and ballooning: “Aeronauts were the new Argonauts, their adventures instantly chronicled. A balloon flight linked town and country, England and France, France and Germany. Landing provoked pure excitement: a balloon brought no evil. By the Normandy fireside […]

Dan P. Lee profiles director Alfonso Cuarón and the difficult journey making his new film Gravity: “When Cuarón first dreamed up Gravity, he thought that he’d essentially hacked the Hollywood system: Here was a potentially audience-friendly adventure movie, and as long as they landed an A-list actor, production would fall into place. He and Jonas […]

An open letter to Grand Theft Auto IV’s protagonist Niko Bellic about Grand Theft Auto V and video game culture: “Almost everyone I know who loves video games — myself included — is broken in some fundamental way. With their ceaseless activity and risk-reward compulsion loops, games also soothe broken people. This is not a […]