An Anti-Gay Crusader and Her Gay Son Were Making It Work. Then Came Trump.

“A portrait of a modern family undone by the political zeitgeist.”

Author: Aaron Gell
Source: GEN
Published: May 6, 2020
Length: 24 minutes (6,000 words)

American Tests

In her quest to become truly American, Jakki Kerubo discovers what it means to belong in a place.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 7, 2020
Length: 13 minutes (3,314 words)

I Tried Hypnosis to Deal with My Pandemic Anxiety, and Got Something Much Weirder

“When I stepped through the door, I told him, I found myself in a room entirely lined with aquariums, in which large, spotted, neon-colored fish were floating. It felt peaceful, I told Brown. ‘There’s some purpose here. I’m not worried about the fish, they’re being taken care of.'”

Source: Vice Magazine
Published: May 5, 2020
Length: 14 minutes (3,565 words)

We Are Nature

“Even the Anthropocene is nature at work transforming itself.”

Author: Beth Lord
Source: Aeon
Published: Apr 28, 2020
Length: 14 minutes (3,700 words)

I’m On a Pancake-only Breakfast Diet and I Wish I Started This Sooner

“MY NAME IS DREW AND I LOVE PANCAKES.”

Source: SF Gate
Published: May 4, 2020
Length: 7 minutes (1,979 words)

Inside the Early Days of China’s Coronavirus Coverup

“The dawn of a pandemic — as seen through the news and social media posts that vanished from China’s internet.”

Author: Shawn Yuan
Source: Wired
Published: May 1, 2020
Length: 14 minutes (3,696 words)

What It Feels Like to Compete at the Biggest Ice Swimming Race in North America

“The first five minutes—especially when it’s below 60—can be so painful and you think, I don’t want to do this. But when you’re swimming in training, within ten minutes, your body goes numb and there’s this adrenaline and a thrill. I don’t understand it, but it’s incredible.”

Source: Men’s Health
Published: Apr 30, 2020
Length: 17 minutes (4,255 words)

No Shelter

Publishing, promoting, and trying to keep a timely book visible during a pandemic.

Published: Apr 30, 2020
Length: 9 minutes (2,484 words)

Safe at Home in Los Angeles

An LA native reflects on the city’s elusive nature, its dazzling complexity, and the effect the city has had on her life as a writer. No matter how LA changes, it never dulls.

Published: Mar 27, 2020
Length: 24 minutes (6,006 words)

Making My Moan

“Dirty words tell us plenty about power. They show us who can speak, enjoy or censor language. They also point to those who are violated, brutalised, silenced. But there is a playful side to obscenity.”

Published: May 1, 2020
Length: 11 minutes (2,772 words)