Sublime’s Last Show: The Oral History

Even though the band’s lead singer died over two decades ago, people still talk about Sublime’s last show and what went wrong. One musician took the time to separate the rumors from the facts by speaking to those who were there that night.

Source: KQED Arts
Published: May 24, 2016
Length: 15 minutes (3,986 words)

We Will Be Seen

Have you read Tressie McMillan Cottom’s book “Thick” yet? If not, that’s a mistake, but a mistake you can begin to rectify by reading this excellent, wide-ranging interview to understand just how sharp a thinker she is.

Published: Feb 1, 2020
Length: 29 minutes (7,308 words)

The Girl in the Huddle

For a decade, Elinor Kaine Penna was the ultimate football insider, bringing the ins and outs of the nascent pro game to its fans. For SB Nation, Natalie Weiner interviews Penna—now decades removed from the press box—and highlights her ascendancy in the 1960s as an NFL reporter and whose newsletter, Lineback, became the sole imprimatur of a truly knowledgeable football fan.

Source: SB Nation
Published: Feb 4, 2020
Length: 22 minutes (5,518 words)

Here Are the Most Common Airbnb Scams Worldwide

Weary traveler, read this and beware! Airbnb has pledged to close the loopholes in their platform that allow predators to scam unsuspecting renters, but clearly, there’s still a lot of work to do.

Source: Vice Magazine
Published: Jan 31, 2020
Length: 19 minutes (4,867 words)

Bring up the Bodies: the Retired Couple who Find Drowning Victims

With specialized sonar equipment and patience, Gene and Sandy Ralston have found the bodies of over 100 people who’ve succumbed from every manner of death from accidental drowning to premeditated murder. Their work is critical, bringing much-needed closure to families, some who have waited decades to say goodbye to their loved one.

Source: The Guardian
Published: Jan 16, 2020
Length: 21 minutes (5,465 words)

The Jerks of Academe

Ask not to whom the jerk talks; the jerk is you.

Published: Jan 31, 2020
Length: 7 minutes (1,770 words)

The People of Las Vegas

Amanda Fortini suggests that Las Vegas is deep and interesting, and a pretty decent place to live, if you care to meet people and look closely, beyond the glittering lure of unbridled debauchery on the Vegas strip.

Source: The Believer
Published: Jan 31, 2020
Length: 20 minutes (5,200 words)

On the Mat We’re Briefly Perfect: On Netflix’s ‘Cheer’

Junior college is two years, but Daytona is forever. Lovely art criticism from Arielle Zibrak: “In all aspects of the sport, self sacrifice is the chief tenet — and the best way, in fact, of extending one’s life beyond the limits of time.”

Published: Jan 22, 2020
Length: 11 minutes (2,882 words)

‘High Maintenance’ and the New TV Fantasy of New York

Isolation perfumes the show, and this is the thing about High Maintenance, with its obsessive verisimilitude, that actually feels the most accurate. It’s a truism that living around so many others can make you feel paradoxically lonely, yet there are entirely novel ways of being alone, together. There are new ones invented every day.

Published: Jan 30, 2020
Length: 15 minutes (3,918 words)

9,008 Days

In 2016, more than 2,000 adults who were sent as kids to die in prison were given a second chance. Marshan Allen was one of them.

Source: Chicago Reader
Published: Sep 25, 2019
Length: 17 minutes (4,341 words)