On the Uses of History for Staying Alive

“Imagine that the turn of the wind to the north will bring snow: Where will you shelter, in the blizzard? Imagine the drop in the moose’s shoulder indicates she is turning to charge: Are you ready? Imagine that a virus, a thing that is debatably not even alive, can roar out of nothing and bring society to its knees. What will you do?”

Source: The Point
Published: Jul 12, 2020
Length: 11 minutes (2,846 words)

How Trump Is Helping Tycoons Exploit the Pandemic

“The secretive titan behind one of America’s largest poultry companies, who is also one of the president’s top donors, is ruthlessly leveraging the coronavirus crisis—and his vast fortune—to strip workers of protections.”

Author: Jane Mayer
Source: The New Yorker
Published: Jul 13, 2020
Length: 34 minutes (8,590 words)

Muddling Through

Matthew Sitman considers his own depression through the lens of George Scialabba’s memoir, How to Be Depressed.

Published: Jul 14, 2020
Length: 11 minutes (2,985 words)

How Koalas With an STD Could Help Humanity

The adorable eucalyptus-eaters are on the front lines of research for a chlamydia vaccine.

Published: Jul 13, 2020
Length: 9 minutes (2,360 words)

I Scream. You Scream.

“The meltdown at the Museum of Ice Cream.”

Source: Forbes
Published: Jul 2, 2020
Length: 10 minutes (2,554 words)

Ahmaud Arbery Will Not Be Erased

But will his death finally force America to see the truth about all the Black people who have disappeared?

Published: Jun 7, 2020
Length: 16 minutes (4,177 words)

Italy’s Call for Urgent Help Was Ignored as Coronavirus Swept Through Europe

No one had enough PPE. No one listened to the pleas of health ministers. And no one thought of themselves as part of a larger community — a sort of “European Union,” if you will — that should coordinate a response.

Source: The Guardian
Published: Jul 15, 2020
Length: 14 minutes (3,660 words)

Covid Conversations With One of America’s Richest Men

When the pandemic hit, Max Abelson called the richest person he knew. In a series of conversations with this anonymous billionaire, we see life through the eyes of the privileged and wealthy.

Published: Jul 14, 2020
Length: 15 minutes (3,993 words)

The Oddball Dolphin of Dingle

“Living solo for decades in an Irish harbor, a dolphin named Fungie has taught us something about solitary cetaceans—maybe they prefer to be alone.”

Source: Hakai Magazine
Published: Jul 14, 2020
Length: 15 minutes (3,900 words)

One Night in D.C.: The Oral History of June 1, 2020

“There was no amping up of tensions, there was none of that feeling of, ‘This is gonna go down.’ Within 15 minutes, it went from protest to pandemonium.”

Source: The Ringer
Published: Jul 13, 2020
Length: 24 minutes (6,153 words)