Don’t Fear the Painter, or the Tyranny of Whiteness By Michelle Weber In Chromophobia, David Batchelor explores color theory and argues for the West’s historical fear of color.
‘Happy 1396’: Porochista Khakpour on Feeling Apprehensive this Nowruz, the Persian New Year By Sari Botton “This year, once Nowruz announced itself to me, I wanted to forget it.”
‘You Can Help in Ways That I Cannot’: Ijeoma Oluo on Putting Your White Privilege to Work Against Racism By Sari Botton A manifesto of the anti-racist movement for white people and others who are just joining.
How a Story Becomes a ‘Hopeful Thing’: George Saunders on His Writing Process By Krista Stevens At the Guardian, the author recounts how it takes “hundreds of drafts” and “thousands of incremental adjustments” to form a story into a “hopeful thing.”
How Jazz Singer Baby Esther Jones Became Betty Boop By Krista Stevens Gabrielle Bellot explores the original inspiration for Betty Boop—a black jazz singer with an iconic style and voice.
There Are Reasons We Can’t Handle the Truth By Michelle Weber Julie Beck digs deep into news silos, alternative facts, and cognitive dissonance.
A Small Town Crushed By a Big Weight — the Military-Industrial Complex By Michelle Weber This meticulously-reported piece explores the bungled investigation into a 1994 double murder in Oak Grove, Kentucky, a small town weighed down by the military-industrial complex.
Not Giving Up on the Dream By Aaron Gilbreath In the Los Angeles Times, Jeffrey Fleishman profiles two young Angelenos trying not to break down as they try to break into show business.
Before the Avon Lady, There Were a Bunch of Monks With a Bottle of Vinegar By Michelle Weber Meet the lifestyle and wellness hawkers of 13th century Italy: the Monks of Santa Maria Novella.
A Nuclear Bomb at Ground Zero, and What Happens Next By Krista Stevens At the Atlantic, two researchers discuss their study of how humans might respond after a nuclear attack on Manhattan.
Rachel Cusk on Eschewing her ‘Cuskness’ For Her Alter-Ego in ‘Outline’ and ‘Transit’ By Sari Botton Rachel Cusk talks to Heidi Julavits about the “trench” she digs between herself and representations of herself, in both memoir and “autofiction.”
I’d Gladly Pay You Tomorrow For a Hamburger Today, If Only My Debit Card Weren’t Frozen By Michelle Weber Ubiquitous digital payments: harbinger of a glorious future, or smokescreen for powerful interests that want to control (and undermine) choice and capitalism?
‘We Love Europa But Europa No Love Us.’ By Pam Mandel “We just want a normal life. We are here for survival.”
Enormous Changes… Arrived at Slowly, Over a the Course of a Politically Engaged Lifetime By Sari Botton On the persistent, patient activism of late author Grace Paley and her recurring character, Faith Darwin Asbury.
I’m on a Boat, Y’all! (With Canada’s Hyper-Conservatives) By Aaron Gilbreath In The Walrus, Peter Norman boats for a week with followers of Canada’s fear-mongering conspiratorial conservative, Ezra Levant.
Filmmaker Kyrre Lien Traveled the World Interviewing Internet Trolls in Person By Krista Stevens 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.
Living In These Curated Times By Aaron Gilbreath At The Baffler, Thomas Frank looks at the pros and cons and history of what we call “curation.”
The Mike and Carol Brady Art Collection By Pam Mandel “One element that survived the entire duration of the show is the set of mixed media pieces covered with things you might find in a pair of pants.”
Rebecca Solnit Explains Things–Expertly By Sari Botton Rebecca Solnit is expert at crystalizing common experiences in such a way that lays bare deeply ingrained patriarchal influences
The Fuzzy Chinese Face That Transcends Political Divisions By Michelle Weber Carl Swanson investigated the Panda Ball — a hoity toity event geared to raising $50 million to ensconce a pair of pandas in New York’s Central Park.
Welcome to Mars, Sorry About the Face-Melting! By Michelle Weber The Red Planet presents scientists with kinks they’ll need to figure out before you can book a shuttle.
Pivoting Away from Lung Cancer By Michelle Weber Big Tobacco takes a page from the Silicon Valley playbook: Welcome to the world of alternative nicotine platforms.
Mixing Business and Family in the LA Lakers Empire By Aaron Gilbreath At ESPN, Ramona Shelburne tells the complex family drama between the president and other stakeholders, which include her siblings.
The Outdoorsy Type’s Dilemma By Ben Huberman At the Guardian, Marisa Meltzer looks at the self-congratulatory corporate philosophies of Patagonia and The North Face.
The Most Amazing Chef You’ve Never Heard of is a Zen Buddhist Nun By Krista Stevens Jeong Kwan has no restaurant, no customers, and no cookbooks, yet her vegan cuisine earns rave reviews from Michelin-star chefs.
RAWR! What’s Happening to Me? The Truth is Out There (About Menopause) By Krista Stevens Gillian Anderson and Jennifer Nadel speak frankly about perimenopause and menopause to destigmatize the flow and ebb of the female reproductive cycle.
He Learned it All on Google and YouTube: How to Become a Gold Smuggler By Krista Stevens 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.
LOL, JFK: The Hot Mess That Is U.S. Immigration Law By Michelle Weber Immigration lawyer Matt Cameron writes in The Baffler, laying bare the inequities, misconceptions, and plain messiness that characterize U.S. immigration law.
Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Woolly Mammoths Roam By Michelle Weber Ross Andersen’s captivating profile of Nikita Zimov and his quest to re-create a Pleistocene ecosystem is worth reading, not least for a fascinating explanation of how grasses went from being slimy ocean plants to covering huge swaths of the planet.
‘When Neanderthals Disappeared From Here, We Became the Sole Inheritors of Our Continent’ By Cheri Lucas Rowlands In Gibraltar, science writer Gaia Vince discovers that analyzing the genetics of ancient humans means changing ideas about our evolution.