And Here’s the Kicker: Mike Sacks’s Conversations With Humor Writers.

Author: Mike Sacks
Source: McSweeney’s
Published: Aug 1, 2009
Length: 27 minutes (6,806 words)

Interview with Rob Janoff, Designer of the Apple Logo

“We presented two versions of the logo. One with and one without the bite. Just in case he thought the bite was too cute. Fortunately he went with the one that gave it the most personality with the bite. Frankly it was a no brainer and you would miss the mark if you don’t show some kind of an apple. When I presented I showed him several variations. Striped version, solid color version, metallic version. All those with the same shape.”

Author: Ivan
Source: Creative Bits
Published: Aug 3, 2009
Length: 10 minutes (2,686 words)

Gonzo Gastronomy: How the Food Industry Has Made Bacon a Weapon of Mass Destruction

The confluence of factory farming, the boom in fast food and manipulation of consumer taste created processed foods that can hook us like drugs.

Author: Arun Gupta
Source: Alternet
Published: Jul 23, 2009
Length: 10 minutes (2,636 words)

The Courthouse Ring

Atticus Finch and the limits of Southern liberalism.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 10, 2009
Length: 15 minutes (3,940 words)

The Death of Journalism (Gawker Edition)

Source: Washington Post
Published: Aug 2, 2009
Length: 7 minutes (1,911 words)

The Long Journey Home

Killed in a Brighton car accident, Fredy Zepeda was buried by the family he tried to lift from poverty but hadn’t seen for years

Source: Boston Globe
Published: Aug 2, 2009
Length: 7 minutes (1,807 words)

The Making of an Iran Policy

Some protesters I met on the streets of Tehran pointedly asked me, “Where’s Obama?” Trying to rethink things, it seems. Khamenei’s own shift was cemented in his ferocious sermon a week after the election, when he embraced Ahmadinejad and tried to blame the whole bloody fiasco on “evil” Western agents.

Published: Jul 30, 2009
Length: 22 minutes (5,570 words)

Hello, My Name Is: Coed Naked Yoga

Source: Austinist
Published: Aug 1, 2009
Length: 6 minutes (1,587 words)

The new offenders of standup comedy

Political correctness used to rule comedy, but now comics routinely offend their audiences. How did things get so nasty?

Source: The Guardian
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Length: 10 minutes (2,732 words)

Spinning in the Grave

The three biggest reasons music magazines are dying.

Source: Slate
Published: Jul 28, 2009
Length: 6 minutes (1,716 words)