The Cajun Navy and the Vigilante Future of Disaster Relief

As traffic pointed the way out of Houston before Hurricane Harvey, a line of trucks towing small, flat-bottomed boats made their way into the city. The Cajun Navy would save hundreds of lives from flooded out neighborhoods, and instead of rejecting their help, the government embraced it, entrusting much of the evacuation to this rag-tag band of individuals, preferring them over the Red Cross, and in some cases, the National Guard.

Source: GQ
Published: Dec 7, 2017
Length: 20 minutes (5,022 words)

Neon City

Stephie Grob Plante profiles the artists of Austin, Texas who create new neon signs and restore old signs to their former, glowing glory.

Source: Curbed
Published: Dec 12, 2017
Length: 11 minutes (2,754 words)

In Praise of Refugee Chefs: They Came from Syria, But They Represent an American Ideal

They crept across mountains at night to escape bombings in Damascus. Coyotes smuggled them across the Mekong River. Now they cook for you and me at other peoples’ restaurants and dream of opening their own one day. Refugee chefs receive unique culinary educations, and they offer food as a cultural exchange between people, if we let them.

Source: Washington Post
Published: Dec 7, 2017
Length: 13 minutes (3,277 words)

Finding My Identity By the Light of My Mother’s Menorah

A personal essay in which Santi Elijah Holley, the African American son of a white mother, revisits Hannukahs past with his Jewish forebears.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 12, 2017
Length: 9 minutes (2,481 words)

The Bar Mitzvah Party Starters

Bar and Bat Mitzvahs have become a big extravagant affair, so Jewish many families hire professionals to direct games, create energy and get attendees to dance. They’re called “motivators.” Here are a few.

Author: Jen Doll
Source: Topic
Published: Dec 9, 2017
Length: 26 minutes (6,607 words)

Spark Connection

Kirsten Tranter is cleaning out her closet. But her clothes don’t spark joy, they spark memory.

Published: Oct 26, 2017
Length: 11 minutes (2,969 words)

Road to Recovery

After his son died of a heart condition at age 5, James G. Robinson planned a month-long road trip across America to help his family begin to heal. What they discovered was that despite all the amazing monuments and curiosities America has to offer, the best times were spent in the car as a family, enraptured by Harry Potter audio books, quintessential sing-along road trip songs, and a playlist curated for each state.

Published: Dec 7, 2017
Length: 10 minutes (2,745 words)

Business Is Booming for America’s Survival Food King

By capitalizing on the growing unease about our unstable world, Wise Co. is expanding its business to average Americans and stores like Walmart. The logic: if you have a flashlight and first-aid kit, shouldn’t you stockpile some Mylar food pouches, too?

Published: Dec 22, 2017
Length: 12 minutes (3,167 words)

Nothing Protects Black Women From Dying in Pregnancy and Childbirth

Journalists Nina Martin and Renee Montagne tell the story of Shalon Irving, an epidemiologist for CDC who got pregnant at 36 and collapsed three weeks after the birth of her child, to confront the disproportionately high rates of maternal mortality among black women in the United States.

Source: Pro Publica
Published: Dec 7, 2017
Length: 30 minutes (7,708 words)

Behind the Scenes With the World’s Top Feather Detective

How do you tell the difference between a poached Lampornis clemenciae hummingbird and a Amazilia violiceps? Ask the feather detective, Pepper Trail. He works at the world’s only wildlife forensics lab. Colleagues fear what will happen when he retires.

 

Source: Audubon
Published: Dec 1, 2016
Length: 10 minutes (2,514 words)