Racist, Violent, Unpunished: A White Hate Group’s Campaign of Menace

Described as an alt-right street-fighting club, California’s Rise Above Movement is actually organized crime. Its members train hard with one goal in mind: attacking the enemies of the far-right. They incite violent, they’re recruiting, and even though they document their attacks online, law enforcement aren’t doing enough about it.

Source: ProPublica
Published: Oct 19, 2017
Length: 20 minutes (5,086 words)

Inside the Mind of Thru-Hiking’s Most Devious Con Man

A profile of thru-hiking scam artist Jeff Caldwell, a wolf in a puffy Marmot coat who started his life of crime by stealing from his friends. Later, using an outdoorsy trail persona, lies, and rugged good looks, he preyed on lonely single women and the elderly, conning them not only out of money, but also of their belief in the basic goodness of humanity.

Source: Outside
Published: Oct 17, 2017
Length: 16 minutes (4,246 words)

The Doctor Will See You Now

A personal essay in which Sarah Miller eulogizes her mother’s black sheep brother.

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 23, 2017
Length: 10 minutes (2,614 words)

The March on the Pentagon: An Oral History

To pressure President Johnson to end the Vietnam War, nearly 100,000 people marched in Washington DC in October, 1967. The Times asked over 20 eyewitnesses to tell the story.

Published: Oct 20, 2017
Length: 26 minutes (6,524 words)

The Man Behind Meat Loaf

Retracing the career of Jim Steinman, the songwriter responsible for some of the most operatic hits of the past 40 years.

Author: Corey Atad
Source: Hazlitt
Published: Oct 19, 2017
Length: 13 minutes (3,269 words)

Rigged: How Voter Suppression Threw Wisconsin to Trump

Ari Berman investigates how increasingly restrictive voting laws in states like Wisconsin had an impact on the 2016 presidential election — and most likely tipped it in favor of Donald Trump.

Author: Ari Berman
Source: Mother Jones
Published: Oct 18, 2017
Length: 21 minutes (5,331 words)

My Date with Hollywood

A personal essay in which Monica Drake recalls the time a famous actress was interested in adapting her novel, Clown Girl, for the screen.

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 18, 2017
Length: 14 minutes (3,538 words)

Judging Books By Their Covers

A personal essay in which author Jason Diamond tries to make sense of his obsession with collecting Vintage Contemporaries paperbacks from the 80s.

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 20, 2017
Length: 18 minutes (4,639 words)

The War To Sell You A Mattress Is An Internet Nightmare

A Fast Company writer, while searching for a new mattress, stumbles into the mysterious and lucrative world of mattress review websites. One review site began raking in millions of dollars from referral links to mattress companies, sparking a nasty legal battle over the legitimacy of its mattress reviews.

Author: David Zax
Source: Fast Company
Published: Oct 16, 2017
Length: 23 minutes (5,766 words)

Harvey Weinstein’s Former Employees Reckon With What They Knew and What They Didn’t

Without naming names, Dana Goodyear recounts how former employees of Harvey Weinstein are feeling since more than four dozen women have come forward with allegations against him.

Source: New Yorker
Published: Oct 19, 2017
Length: 10 minutes (2,514 words)