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