The Hungry People

“Non-Natives like to think that the Mayflower had Wi-Fi, that the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María brought with them consumer goods, Facebook, and nuclear medicine. In reality, they brought very little from Europe that Natives wanted beyond weapons and metalwork.”

Source: The Walrus
Published: Jun 29, 2020
Length: 12 minutes (3,021 words)

Spies, Lies, and Stonewalling: What It’s Like to Report on Facebook

“The company controls the communications and informational intake of more than two and a half billion people. It can feel impossible to comprehend its total influence—or to overstate its impact on journalism.” Jacob Silverman talks to over a dozen journalists in an attempt to understand what it’s like to cover Facebook.

Published: Jul 1, 2020
Length: 14 minutes (3,730 words)

Why the Mueller Investigation Failed

“Robert Mueller forfeited the opportunity to speak clearly and directly about Trump’s crimes, and Barr filled the silence with his high-volume exoneration. Mueller’s investigation was no witch hunt; his report was, ultimately, a surrender.”

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Jul 29, 2020
Length: 30 minutes (7,685 words)

Tie a Tourniquet on Your Heart

Journalist Diana Moskovitz revisits Pulitzer-prize winning crime reporter Edna Buchanan’s memoir “The Corpse Had a Familiar Face,” enshrined as part of a “textbook collection of great works of literary journalism.” “I reached for it as America erupted this month, yet again, in protests over the killings of Black people at the hands of police, wondering what Edna Buchanan, one of the greatest influences on late 20th century crime writing, would have to offer this moment.”

Source: Popula
Published: Jul 25, 2020
Length: 15 minutes (3,948 words)

The Rape Kit’s Secret History

The story of the woman who forced police to start treating sexual assault like a crime.

Published: Jun 17, 2020
Length: 33 minutes (8,295 words)

My Family Saw a Police Car Hit a Kid on Halloween. Then I Learned How NYPD Impunity Works.

“I spoke to four witnesses, including my wife. All of them said they saw the same thing. When I called Baker back, he told me that my wife and the three others were mistaken. The car hadn’t hit the kid. The kid had hit the car.” After his family saw an NYPD car hit a Black teen, Eric Umansky tried to find out what happened.

Source: ProPublica
Published: Jun 23, 2020
Length: 12 minutes (3,158 words)

Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Master Auctioneer?

‘Eight days inside America’s Auction Academy, learning the secrets of “the dynamo from Dallas.”’

Author: Katy Vine
Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Jun 24, 2020
Length: 23 minutes (5,843 words)

The Long Walk

“When a group of Black mothers in Ohio were told to wait for school integration, they started marching every day in protest. They kept going for nearly 18 months.”

Source: The Atavist
Published: Jun 30, 2020
Length: 44 minutes (11,200 words)

“I Hope Our Daughters Will Not Be Punished”

“From a solitary cell in Texas, Kwaneta Yatrice Harris writes letters documenting the torturous conditions, despite the risk of retribution.”

Source: Dissent
Published: Jun 29, 2020
Length: 16 minutes (4,109 words)

The Crime Victim Who’s Obsessed with True Crime Shows

“Before the shooting, watching true crime shows was a diversion. Afterward, it is no longer simply a genre to me.”

Source: Narratively
Published: Jun 25, 2020
Length: 8 minutes (2,063 words)