When Will We Care About Domestic Violence?

The pandemic has sparked a surge in reports of domestic violence, and the U.N. has called for governments to “put women’s safety first.” But that has never happened in any country, crisis or not.

Published: May 11, 2020
Length: 16 minutes (4,192 words)

The Actual Experience of Virtual Experiences

Decimated by pandemic, many businesses are offering online experiences, from cooking classes to a visit to Rome’s colosseum, but can staring at screens offer a suitable replacement for doing actual things?

Source: Eater
Published: May 4, 2020
Length: 9 minutes (2,454 words)

Hard Sell: Japan’s Retail Sector May Need to Reinvent Itself In the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Shifting buying habits at the country’s famous convenience stores and department stores hint at possible permanent changes in consumer behavior, favoring cooking at home, telecommuting, and online-shopping. This would be a profound change in Japan, where many people buy groceries fresh every day, department stores sell the pleasure of shopping as much as they sell high-end products, and public transportation supports shopping centers.

Source: The Japan Times
Published: May 9, 2020
Length: 8 minutes (2,080 words)

Life Without Live

Now that pandemic has temporarily ended live musical performance, how do music fans deal with its absence?

Source: Rolling Stone
Published: May 4, 2020
Length: 9 minutes (2,405 words)

An Oral History of ‘Center Stage’

“How 24 pairs of leather pants, a tearaway tutu, and red pointe shoes made for a generation’s greatest dance movie.”

Published: May 11, 2020
Length: 33 minutes (8,465 words)

Prayers for Richard

David Ramsey wrote a lyrical love letter to Little Richard at Oxford American in 2015. “For all of us, actuarially speaking, sooner or later the end is nigh. So let us dance: black and white, man and woman, believer and heathen. And everything in between. Let us dance, all of us, while we are still able, while we still can.”

Source: Oxford American
Published: Dec 11, 2015
Length: 11 minutes (2,877 words)

The FBI Said I Was My Parents’ Stolen Baby

“One headline read: “200 search for stolen baby.” Another: “Mother asks kidnapper to return baby.” He recognised his parents in the pictures, looking distraught and much younger. Then he read that their baby son, Paul Joseph, had been kidnapped.”

Source: BBC
Published: Jun 20, 2018
Length: 12 minutes (3,212 words)

Missed Calls

Lauren Collins’ father died in March of leukemia as the pandemic began to unfold, forcing her to learn to grieve in a time of enforced isolation. This essay is a remembrance of her father and an exploration of grieving from a distance.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: May 4, 2020
Length: 13 minutes (3,423 words)

The Harsh Future of American Cities

How Covid-19 could stop the move toward density and bustling urban centers.

Source: GEN
Published: May 3, 2020
Length: 12 minutes (3,183 words)

‘A Terrible Price’: The Deadly Racial Disparities of COVID-19 in America

“For the Zulu Club, a black social organization in New Orleans, Mardi Gras was a joy. The coronavirus made it a tragedy.”

Published: May 29, 2020
Length: 28 minutes (7,100 words)