Maria’s Bodies

Nearly one hundred days after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, at least half of the island’s 3.4 million inhabitants still struggle to survive without electricity. The reason: the hurricane was a natural disaster, but the way the government let Puerto Rico’s infrastructure degrade set this vulnerable impoverished population up for a manmade disaster. Without electricity, food and medicine spoil, clean water can’t circulate, hospitals can’t function, vital information can’t disseminate, and Puerto Rican suffering increases.

Published: Dec 22, 2017
Length: 32 minutes (8,031 words)

This is How You Say Goodbye

A personal essay in which, after losing two brothers and a cousin in a short amount of time, Lillian Slugocki tries to make sense of death — and life in the wake of others’ passing.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 27, 2017
Length: 7 minutes (1,863 words)

The Photographer

Justin Heckert profiles Anthony Carbajal, a 28-year-old photographer with the inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Before the disease slowly robs him of his ability to move, to swallow, and to breathe, Anthony is making the most of now by inventing hacks to allow him to make photographs. “I like to live in the present,” he said, “About 90 percent of the time, I’m looking forward to the time I do have.”

Published: Dec 21, 2017
Length: 14 minutes (3,539 words)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Rocker

The lead singer of the Old 97’s discusses the way digitization has disrupted the collaborative nature of a musical community whose members treat each other with respect, even when they’re making money.

Source: The Baffler
Published: Dec 4, 2017
Length: 9 minutes (2,423 words)

Bussed Out

For thirty years, many American cities have run “homeless relocation programs,” where homeless people are given free bus tickets to move somewhere else. The Guardian takes the first close look at how this all does and does not work.

Source: The Guardian
Published: Dec 20, 2017
Length: 19 minutes (4,827 words)

A Muslim, a Christian, and a Baby Named ‘God’

A personal essay in which Rachel Jones, a Christian American living in Djibouti, reflects on her friendship with a Muslim woman there, and the more universal aspects of faith.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 22, 2017
Length: 14 minutes (3,733 words)

Fish, Drugs, and Murder

By protecting a third of its landbase, Costa Rica built itself into a leader in ecotourism and resource conservation. Offshore, the government gave too much of the country’s fisheries away to foreign fleets, and things have gone haywire.

Source: Hakai Magazine
Published: Dec 12, 2017
Length: 11 minutes (2,800 words)

The Monster Beneath

While Mount Vesuvius gets all the publicity, Naples’ Campi Flegrei — a caldera volcano — might be the most dangerous for the hundreds of thousands of residents within its red zone.

Source: 1843
Published: Dec 11, 2017
Length: 15 minutes (3,815 words)

Could Facebook Be Tried for Human-Rights Abuses?

In Myanmar, Facebook is the de facto internet. Does that mean they can be legally responsible for their actions — or lack thereof — when content there influences politics or incites violence?

Source: The Atlantic
Published: Dec 20, 2017
Length: 15 minutes (3,762 words)

Watching a Fall

The allure and shame of watching America’s last public hanging.

Source: Boulevard
Published: Dec 20, 2017
Length: 20 minutes (5,070 words)