A Trip to Syria, Remembered By Pam Mandel Commentary In 2007, David Zoby went on an academic tour of Syria. He admits he was kind of a fraud, but he went anyway.
A Mystery Wrapped in an Engima, Then Shoved Under the Desk By Michelle Weber Highlight Waste paper baskets: deeply symbolic, paradoxical items. Who knew?
‘Hopely I’ll See You Again’: An Unlikely but Wonderful Love Affair By Krista Stevens Highlight Noah Cho ruminates on why his blond, all-American mother chose his “barely bilingual” Korean father.
The Inevitable and Magical Life of Beverly Cleary, All 101 Years of It By Michelle Weber Highlight The beloved creator of Ramona Quimby and Henry Huggins enters her second century.
Why Dylan Matthews Donated His Kidney to a Stranger and You Should Too By Krista Stevens Highlight At Vox, Matthews recounts the the long and rewarding process of donating a kidney to a perfect stranger.
Sesame Street’s New Autistic Character Could Be Groundbreaking By Krista Stevens Commentary At Vox, Dylan Matthews posits that Julia could have a real influence on how society embraces those with autism.
What it Means to be Korean in the West By Krista Stevens Highlight While searching for a Korean radish to make her grandmother’s soup, Vivien Lee meditates on family and food.
Is That a Pillowcase Full of Human Hair, or Are You Just Happy to See Me? By Michelle Weber Highlight Annie Correal’s story on the last New York wigmakers has a little bit of everything: celebrity gossip, religious scandals, and of course, wigs.
Arkansas’ Capital Punishment Spree: ‘It Ain’t Gonna Work on Some of Them’ By Michelle Weber Highlight The state prepares to kill seven men this month with a soon-to-expire supply of lethal injection drugs.
Curiosity, Unfettered: Margaret Atwood as the Prophet of Dystopia By Krista Stevens Highlight Rebecca Mead’s profile in The New Yorker covers the resonance of The Handmaid’s Tale in Donald Trump’s America.
In the Shadow of a Fairy Tale: Overcoming the Evil Stepmother Stereotype By Krista Stevens Highlight Leslie Jamison explores the fraught role of stand-in parent as she considers her new life as a stepmother to a six-year-old.
Winnipeg’s Indigenous Bear Clan Patrol Protects the Vulnerable By Krista Stevens Highlight Vice’s Geraldine Malone walks the streets with group of volunteers dedicated to fighting overdoses.
Kim Stanley Robinson’s Cheerful Novel of Climate Change By Michelle Legro Commentary The sci-fi writer explains how his city-dwellers learn to survive and thrive after a climate-change catastrophe.
The Swan (Mascot) that Would Not Be Tamed By Ben Huberman Highlight The story of a football team’s mascot, the man inside the costume, and the town that rallied around its local hero.
The Current Hot Chicken Craze Is Also about Race and Gentrification By Ben Huberman Highlight In Nashville, an exploration of the current obsession with the city’s signature dish: hot chicken.
Building In the Shadow of Our Own Destruction By Colin Dickey Feature Those who would build enormous structures—skyscrapers, bridges, border walls—should do so with an eye toward their eventual ruin.
‘Turn Off Your Brain and Just Trust Instinct’: Q-Tip on the Evolving Sound of Hip-Hop By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight Kyle Kramer, editor at Noisey, talks with A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip about staying true to himself while evolving with the sound of hip-hop.
‘Alexa Is Not Just the Perfect Companion, But the Perfect Spouse’ By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight Can Amazon’s Alexa be your friend—or something more? At Digg, Aaron Paul Calvin examines the recent spike in digital assistants.
How an ER Doctor Got Hooked on Fentanyl and Lost It All By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight At Toronto Life, Katherine Laidlaw tells the story of Darryl Gebein, who got hooked one of the most dangerous opioids on the market.
‘London Was, But Is No More’ By Michelle Weber Highlight A loving, fascinating, melancholy, rollicking look at how technology and globalization are transforming urban spaces.
This Is God’s Property By Michelle Weber Highlight Kelsey Munger shares the story of a childhood spent being vigilant against the demons, witches, and werewolves her parents believed were stalking their family.
Why Should a Website Decide Where You’re From? By Michelle Weber Highlight In Real Life Mag, information accessibility and data-use expert Zara Rahman explores the coercive power of the location drop-down menu.
‘Because California Moves Through You’ By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight Essayist Lynell George muses on California and the two cities—Los Angeles and San Francisco—that own a part of her heart.
How Tiny, Yet Über-Efficient Spider Brains Can Improve Computer Technology By Krista Stevens Highlight Big brains offer no advantage in the animal kingdom.
The Religious Iconography of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ By Michelle Weber Highlight A vast range of political, historical, and religious influences went into Margaret Atwood’s dystopia, including one unexpected logo.
Yes, We Do Have Bananas Today (For the Bargain Price of $17) By Michelle Weber Highlight For Roads & Kingdoms, Bianca Bosker explores the world of high-end Japanese fruit: $500 strawberries and $27,000 melons.
Month 13: What Happens After the Year-Long Syrian Refugee Sponsorship Ends? By Krista Stevens Highlight When Canadians privately sponsor a Syrian refugee family, the agreement lasts one year. What happens at month 13?
24-Hour Competitive Rock Climbing: Finger Tips as Rough as Rhino Skin By Krista Stevens Highlight Why would anyone want to find out how many rock climbs they can do in a 24-hour period? For fun, of course.
The Anatomy of a TV Show: How ‘The Americans’ Is Made By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight Caroline Framke shadowed the crew of FX’s Cold War spy drama The Americans during the production of season four episode “Clark’s Place” and explained how the show was made.
20 Years of Talking in Maths and Buzzing Like a Fridge By Michelle Weber Highlight Radiohead’s OK Computer is 20 years old this year, and Anwen Crawford pens a lovely review-slash-analysis-slash-ode to this enduring album.
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