He’s nearly blind. He’s flat broke. But he carries Olympic gold in his pocket.

As the only American boxer to win a gold medal (in the middleweight division) in the 1972 Olympics, Sugar Ray Seales should have become an icon, but even though a lifetime of blows to the head cost him his eyesight and finances, Seales is content, teaching the sport to those that want to learn from a man whom the mitts carried to unimaginable heights

Author: Zak Keefer
Published: Apr 12, 2018
Length: 8 minutes (2,147 words)

How Far Can Becky Hammon Go in the N.B.A.?

A WNBA legend and basketball Olympian, Becky Hammon made further history when she was hired as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs, the first-ever female assistant on the NBA sidelines. And judging by her career trajectory, along with a nudge from coaching legend Gregg Popovich, she might as well be the first head coach.

 

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Apr 10, 2018
Length: 23 minutes (5,882 words)

How Trump Is Shaking Up the Book Industry

Ignore that headline. Trump doesn’t read and he can barely spell, but his election has some American commercial book publishers reassessing how their literary fiction can better connect with small-town America and the white working class. Some publishers, not all. As literary agent Nicole Aragi said, “White identity is very well curated in the literary space.”

Source: Politico
Published: Apr 7, 2018
Length: 12 minutes (3,092 words)

Her Gospel Truth

Craig Belcher writes on the life and musical legacy of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the electric-guitar playing gospel singer widely recognized as the mother of rock ‘n’ roll. While the legendary artist made Richmond, Virginia, her home for over a decade, the city has yet to honor her — her home was seized and sold off to cover unpaid taxes decades ago and she lies in a grave that went unmarked until 2009. Belcher says it’s long past time that Richmond made it up to the late, great recording artist whose blues-infused gospel sound and soulful performances influenced the likes of Eric Clapton and Keith Richards.

Published: Apr 9, 2018
Length: 11 minutes (2,789 words)

Aging Ghosts in the Skincare Machine

In this incisive reported essay written as part of Roxane Gay’s Unruly Bodies series, Chelsea G. Summers mines her own fears, writing about the skin as a battleground for many women terrified by aging’s effect on their birthday suit.

Source: Medium
Published: Apr 10, 2018
Length: 19 minutes (4,999 words)

Chasing the Man Who Caught the Storm: An Interview With Brantley Hargrove

An interview with Brantley Hargrove, the author of a new biography of the storm chaser Tim Samaras, who was killed by the biggest tornado ever recorded. To understand the life of a chaser, Hargrove had to become one himself.

Source: Longreads
Published: Apr 11, 2018
Length: 16 minutes (4,096 words)

The Demise of the Nation State

Trump may seem like America’s problem and Brexit England’s mistake, but we all live in the same global economic and political system now, one where our national borders won’t protect us. National authority is increasingly an illusion. We need a new transnational system to deal with our large scale ecological, social and financial problems.

Source: The Guardian
Published: Apr 5, 2018
Length: 22 minutes (5,621 words)

Did Brian Easley Have to Die?

A desperate veteran, missing his disability payment, walked into a bank and took several people hostage. This is how he got there.

Author: Aaron Gell
Source: Longreads
Published: Apr 9, 2018
Length: 36 minutes (9,230 words)

The Silence: The Legacy of Childhood Trauma

Junot Diaz breaks his silence about being raped by a trusted adult when he was 8 years old — a horrific trauma that ended his childhood, destroyed his sense of self, prompted a suicide attempt, and has shaped every day of his life since.

Author: Junot Diaz
Source: The New Yorker
Published: Apr 16, 2018
Length: 19 minutes (4,958 words)

When Cops Became Robbers

Seven of the eight members of Baltimore’s Gun Trace Task Force started robbing criminals of money, guns and drugs and violating citizens’ constitutional rights. Until they got caught.

Source: BBC
Published: Apr 3, 2018
Length: 35 minutes (8,784 words)