Notes from a Baby-Names Obsessive
Names channel our identity — or at least our parents’ idea of our future identity — in ways both big (class, ethnicity) and small (subcultural affiliations, self-awareness). When the mother’s American and the father’s French, things get complicated, fast.
She Was Convicted of Killing Her Mother. Prosecutors Withheld the Evidence That Would Have Freed Her.
By the time Noura Jackson’s conviction was overturned, she had spent nine years in prison. This type of prosecutorial error is almost never punished.
Skiffle Craze: An Interview with Billy Bragg
On the Paris Review, Alex Abramovich talks with Billy Bragg about skiffle, the history of music, and duck jokes.
Shot in the Dark
Spending six days in a cave without any light means hallucinations, hypothermia, and the potential for fatal falls. Why would anyone volunteer for one of the most extreme reality shows ever?
Judith Jones, In Her Own Words
The prolific editor, who was an early champion of Anne Frank’s diary, Julia Child’s cookbooks, and many other notable works of the past half-century, passed away today.
Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age
In recounting the history of America’s obsession with thinness, Taffy Brodesser-Akner explores her own struggles with weight loss and the weight loss industry. She relates how “diet” has become a four-letter word, out in favor of a new form of personal imprisonment — “eating clean,” “getting fit, and “being strong” — none of which offer any magic in a lifetime of struggle between body acceptance and losing weight.
About a Boy: A Transgender Teen at the Tipping Point
“As long as his contours didn’t give his secret away, ‘Jay’ was a clean slate, a boy who could be anyone.” For three years, Casey Parks chronicled the life of a transgender teenager in Washington State. This is part one in a three-part series.
Mental Illness is Not a Capital Crime
An excerpt from Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color, by Andrea J. Richie, just out from Beacon Press. In this chapter, subtitled, “On the disproportional impact of police violence on women of color,” Richie writes about the impact law enforcement’s common misconceptions about women of color can have on the women’s safety. In cases where mental illness is an added factor, police officers often know even less, and are violent toward women who aren’t dangerous.
When Death is a Choice
Dave Cameron profiles David Forsee, a man with a fatal lung disease who chose to end his life under Canada’s right to die legislation. As his time diminishes, Forsee and his friends and caregivers struggle to be at peace with the choice he made and the time he has left.
Tenants Under Siege: Inside New York City’s Housing Crisis
Despite having the most progressive housing laws in the country, New York City is in the throes of a humanitarian emergency: a large-scale “displacement of populations” from their homes.
You must be logged in to post a comment.