This whitewashing of Jewishness out of pop culture is an old, old story, and it isn’t specific to camp movies; it’s true of plenty of other Hollywood representations of American teens, too. The Czech Jew who wrote the novel that was the basis for Gidget (1959) was inspired by his own surfing daughter, Kathy Kohner, who went on […]
Nonfiction
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
‘Who Cares about Your Jetpack?’ On the Lack of Women Futurists
When we think about futurism, more often than not it’s robots and hoverboards that spring into our minds.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The World’s Most Lethal Border Crossing
Europe is “experiencing a maritime refugee crisis of historic proportions,” the United Nations warns. Thousands of refugees escaping conflict in Africa and the Middle East are trying to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Bad Brains Mixed Punk with a Positive Mental Attitude
“When we first came out, [punk] was kind of on some vulgar shit,” recalls Jenifer. “We started kicking PMA in our music, and the message was different than the regular punk rock. You know, a punk rocker can write a song about hate─I hate my mom or some shit, you know? We wasn’t on no […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Sailing Across the Atlantic in 30 Days—With Two Toddlers
When her youngest son was just a few months old, experienced sailor Janis Couvreux and her family determined to sail across the Atlantic Ocean–from a port city in Senegal to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. * * *
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
‘Every Means of Confession Creates a Kind of Person Who Confesses’
Every means of confession creates a kind of person who confesses. You become who you are by saying what you did. The details make a difference. That pronoun, “I,” feels one way when you say it as part of a formula, in the dusk of a confessional, to a priest you cannot see behind the […]
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Rivers We Destroy: A Reading List
Here are four stories on how humans have changed local and regional river systems, and the disastrous and sometimes deadly consequences.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The ‘Quasi-Celebrity’ Gene Editing Pioneer
The controversial genome editing technique Crispr-Cas9 has sparked some fascinating recent deep-dives, including Backchannel’s “Editing the Software of Life, for Fame and Fortune” in June, and Wired’s July cover story “The Genesis Engine,” which inspired the Twitter hashtag #crisprfacts. Jennifer Doudna, the biochemist who helped invent the breakthrough tool, often helps anchor the coverage. Andrew […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Why Warren Buffett Funds Birth Control Research
Quietly, steadily, the Buffett family is funding the biggest shift in birth control in a generation. “For Warren, it’s economic. He thinks that unless women can control their fertility—and that it’s basically their right to control their fertility—that you are sort of wasting more than half of the brainpower in the United States,” DeSarno said […]