At the Atlantic, two researchers discuss their study of how humans might respond after a nuclear attack on Manhattan.
Krista Stevens
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Forgotten Black Woman Behind Betty Boop
The comic character Betty Boop is enjoying a renaissance, with new cartoons, a new trademark red lipstick, and women’s fashions on offer. Gabrielle Bellot explores the original inspiration for Betty Boop — a black jazz singer named Baby Esther Jones — whose signature voice and scat-inspired patter inspired not only Betty’s look, but her signature […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
George Saunders: What Writers Really Do When They Write
George Saunders reflects on his writing process, suggesting that the magical, romantic notion where fully formed art leaps from the author’s brain on to the page does the writer, the reader, and the work a disservice. In reality, it takes “hundreds of drafts” and “thousands of incremental adjustments” to form a story into a “hopeful […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Filmmaker Kyrre Lien Traveled the World Interviewing Internet Trolls in Person
Filmmaker Kyrre Lien was curious about what drives people who make hateful comments online, so he traveled the world to interview internet trolls in person.
Posted inEditor's Pick
What Happens If a Nuclear Bomb Goes Off in Manhattan?
Researcher William Kennedy, who along with Andrew Cooks, is mining data from past tragedies such as the 1917 Halifax Explosion, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina to run computer simulations studying how humans would respond after a nuclear attack on Manhattan, New York.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Into The Woods: How One Man Survived Alone in the Wilderness For 27 years
An excerpt from The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit — Michael Finkel’s book on Christopher Knight, the man who simply walked away from the modern world into the woods of rural Maine in 1986 — without any real plan for survival. Living alone for 27 years in a […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Internet Warriors: Inside the Dark World of Online ‘Trolls’
Three years ago, filmmaker Kyrre Lien became curious about what drives people to make hateful comments online. He pored over 200 online profiles and traveled the world to interview internet trolls in person to uncover why they say the things they do. The results are fascinating and terrifying at the same time.
Posted inFood, Nonfiction, Quotes
The Most Amazing Chef You’ve Never Heard of is a Zen Buddhist Nun
Jeong Kwan has no restaurant, no customers, and no cookbooks, yet her vegan cuisine earns rave reviews from Michelin-star chefs.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Unapologetic Women
RAWR! What’s Happening to Me? The Truth is Out There (About Menopause)
Gillian Anderson and Jennifer Nadel speak frankly about perimenopause and menopause to destigmatize the flow and ebb of the female reproductive cycle.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
He Learned it All on Google and YouTube: How to Become a Gold Smuggler
Want to become an international gold smuggler? Harold Vilches started his life of crime with a Google search for gold dealers in Peru and YouTube videos on how to make your own gold ingots.