‘This Is Going to Change the World’

“As the new millennium dawned, a mysterious invention from a charismatic millionaire became a viral sensation—then went down in flames. Ever since, I’ve wondered: Was it all my fault?”

Author: Dan Kois
Source: Slate
Published: Aug 1, 2021
Length: 39 minutes (9,798 words)

Typos, Tricks and Misprints

“Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology.”

Source: Aeon
Published: Jul 26, 2021
Length: 13 minutes (3,401 words)

The Best Four Years of Your Life?

“My future — the vague, all-consuming ideal we’re taught to live for — felt like a more dominant force in my life than my present.”

Source: Vox
Published: Jul 27, 2021
Length: 12 minutes (3,018 words)

The Strange Persistence of First Languages

“Spurred by my father’s death, I returned to the Czech Republic hoping to reconnect to him. In doing so, I also reconnected with my native tongue, and with parts of my identity that I had long ignored.”

Source: Nautilus
Published: Nov 5, 2015
Length: 13 minutes (3,440 words)

Brownsville, We Have a Problem

“SpaceX’s investment likely does mean a change in economic status and power for Brownsville. But the money and vision of the world’s second-richest man could also upend the culture and values that make Brownsville special to its community, a fear that has riven the people of this usually quiet place.”

Source: Protocol
Published: Jul 28, 2021
Length: 20 minutes (5,145 words)

‘We Are All Suffering in Silence’ — Inside the US Military’s Pervasive Culture of Eating Disorders

U.S. military service members develop harmful and unhealthy habits to maintain “body composition standards” that are outdated.

Source: Task & Purpose
Published: Aug 2, 2021
Length: 24 minutes (6,213 words)

The Love Bomb

“For 50 years, Enthusiastic Sobriety programs have promised to help teenagers kick drug and alcohol addiction. But former followers say ES doesn’t save lives—it destroys them.”

Source: The Atavist
Published: Jul 30, 2021
Length: 78 minutes (19,700 words)

What It’s Like to Travel When You Have a ‘Bad’ Passport

“I am always an immigrant, never an expatriate. As an immigrant, to even visit a country, you must prove not just your legality, but your worth.”

Author: Anne Moraa
Source: Catapult
Published: Apr 15, 2019
Length: 11 minutes (2,792 words)

The Last Black Stage

“I see rehearsal space, rehearsal tapes, dressing rooms, cooking sessions, woodsheds, after-hours performances, and backstage as Black sacred spaces, places where we are most like ourselves.”

Source: The Believer
Published: Jun 1, 2021
Length: 10 minutes (2,665 words)

‘A Lesson in Loss, Humility and Absurdity’: How Rhythmic Gymnastics Took Over My Childhood

“To an outside observer, I was a little girl in a sparkly leotard throwing a hoop back and forth, but in reality, my life in rhythmic gymnastics felt less like a sleepover-friendly teen drama than one of those hardboiled stories about a steely renegade on a single-minded quest – usually a man, hardened by middle-age, gripped by an obsession so pure and powerful that it alienates everyone around him. At nine years old, I was that man.”

Source: The Guardian
Published: Jul 27, 2021
Length: 17 minutes (4,327 words)