The Lunar Sea

What do humans and corals (and numerous other marine creatures) have in common? We all seem to find the moon irresistibly romantic.

Source: Hakai Magazine
Published: Jun 13, 2017
Length: 9 minutes (2,300 words)

When Should A Child Be Taken From His Parents?

Larisa MacFarquhar walks her readers through the experience of being investigated by children’s protective services, then of carrying out the investigation, and finally shares the stories of several families in New York City who have encountered the agency.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 7, 2017
Length: 45 minutes (11,489 words)

The Chef Who Wouldn’t Cook

Rocco DiSpirito was once the next great American chef — so why hasn’t he been in the kitchen for the last 13 years?

Source: Thrillist
Published: Aug 9, 2017
Length: 16 minutes (4,000 words)

Fashion for the 67 Percent: A Revolution in the Plus-Size Market

An article about the burgeoning business of plus-size women’s fashion. Author Ashley C. Ford also weaves in her own story — as a plus-size customer who often has a hard time finding clothes in regular stores, and as someone who was discouraged from her dream of designing plus-size clothes.

Published: Aug 7, 2017
Length: 11 minutes (2,787 words)

Meet Alex, the Russian Casino Hacker Who Makes Millions Targeting Slot Machines

A look into the mind of a mathematician-turned-hacker who milks slot machines in casinos around the world.

Source: Wired
Published: Aug 5, 2017
Length: 14 minutes (3,623 words)

At the Heart of Every Restaurant

The Washington Post’s food critic volunteers to work a dishwashing shift at a 250-seat restaurant in Houston, Texas, to better understand a job that’s critical to a successful kitchen.

Source: Washington Post
Published: Aug 7, 2017
Length: 11 minutes (2,865 words)

Telemetry

After a heart attack (perhaps two heart attacks), Jeff Sharlet searches for meaning in his own mortality, “This brilliant darkness, with which I am coming to terms.”

Source: VQR
Published: Jul 1, 2017
Length: 8 minutes (2,022 words)

Hard Lessons in Living Off the Grid

A family tried to build its own sustainable paradise in Hawaii. Then Tesla’s batteries came to town.

Source: Grist
Published: Aug 8, 2017
Length: 12 minutes (3,139 words)

In Foreign Territory, Wondering: Who is the Alpha Monkey?

A personal essay in which Leigh Shulman writes about learning about human behavior while studying primates at a refuge in Bolivia. Volunteering there with her nine-year-old daughter also provides perspective on the meaning of home and belonging.

Source: Longreads
Published: Aug 8, 2017
Length: 19 minutes (4,962 words)

The Drug Runners

Northern Mexico’s indigenous, rural Tarahumara are some of the world’s best endurance runners. Facing drought and famine, some members of this reclusive tribe have been lured into carrying drugs into the US for Mexican cartels ─ literal drug runners. As cartel violence worsens and groups take over the tribes’ lands to grow marijuana and opium poppies for the drug-hungry West, the Tarahumara’s fate is uncertain, but it doesn’t look good.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Jul 1, 2017
Length: 28 minutes (7,224 words)