Schlitterbahn’s Tragic Slide

Can a man be convicted of second-degree murder for building a water slide? Where’s the line between thrill-seeking and willful negligence? After indictments following the death of 10-year old Caleb Schwab on the “Verrückt” slide at Schlitterbahn water park, we’re going to find out.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Jul 20, 2018
Length: 29 minutes (7,450 words)

The Untold Story of Otto Warmbier, American Hostage

Otto Warmbier traveled to North Korea. Otto Warmbier lost consciousness while in North Korean custody. Otto Warmbier is now dead. And despite what an unsubstantiated report or an unscrupulous administration says, that’s about all we know.

Source: GQ
Published: Jul 23, 2018
Length: 39 minutes (9,758 words)

In Conversation: Billy Joel

Billy Joel talks about performing in his late 60s, why he stopped writing songs, the problems inherent in not owning your own recordings, and his opinion of the state of America today.

Source: Vulture
Published: Jul 23, 2018
Length: 22 minutes (5,610 words)

The Water Wars of Arizona

Destructively lax water policies and capitalistic opportunism made desert Arizona ripe for agricultural exploitation. As the ancient aquifer drops in southern Arizona’s Sulphur Springs Valley, corporate farmers and local residents battle to reach what’s left, but when will the water run out?

Published: Jul 19, 2018
Length: 24 minutes (6,045 words)

Teaching in a Red County, After Trump

For years, Professor Melissa Febos hid her politics—and her tattoos—from her red-county Jersey students. After the election, she found common ground with them in “an earnest desire for the safety and freedom of other humans.”

Source: Literary Hub
Published: Jul 18, 2018
Length: 9 minutes (2,358 words)

Can New Jersey’s Dying Malls Be Saved?

Like everywhere in the US, malls in New Jersey are suffering the effects of online shopping and changing business models. Some are adding gyms, breweries and pop-up restaurants to bring back customers. The verdict is out if this will work.

Published: Jul 16, 2018
Length: 12 minutes (3,158 words)

Aly Raisman Takes the Floor

In her fight to end sexual abuse, the Olympic champion is challenging the very institutions she led to glory.

Author: Mina Kimes
Source: ESPN
Published: Jul 18, 2018
Length: 19 minutes (4,940 words)

We Have Always Lived in the House

In this personal essay, in the face of tragic loss, Victoria Comella searches for the home she left behind, only to find it seventeen years later in the last place she expected.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jul 20, 2018
Length: 15 minutes (3,784 words)

I Love Performing Those Songs. But What About the Gender Politics?

After a millennial questions misogynistic aspects of “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever,” actress Melissa Errico — currently starring in a Broadway revival of the show — considers the ways in which she has been able to adjust her portrayals of women in classic, retrograde musicals so that they appear to have more power and agency.

Published: Jul 13, 2018
Length: 8 minutes (2,063 words)

For One Last Night, Make It a Blockbuster Night

What’s the major difference between renting a movie at Blockbuster and streaming it on Netflix? As Justin Heckert reports for The Ringer, as the last Blockbuster video stores close, the people of Alaska won’t just miss the blissful comfort and simplicity of family movie night. They’ll miss the human interaction that can be the best part of visiting the video store in person: the colorful people, the jokes, the laughs, and the delightful camaraderie of discovering a shared favorite film at the checkout counter.

Source: The Ringer
Published: Jul 19, 2018
Length: 37 minutes (9,282 words)