After Summiting Mt. Everest, He Returned Home to Face His Demons
Outdoor explorer and photographer Cory Richards describes his personal struggles with PTSD, alcoholism, and infidelity.
The Fire Last Time
When the Detroit police department created an undercover unit to reduce street crime in the 1970s, Detroit’s black community quickly got to know it for its lethal force, disregard for the law, and systemic racism.
How My Parents Met
Noah Cho ruminates on why his mother, a blond “symbol of America, the homecoming queen” was attracted to his father, a “barely-bilingual” Korean immigrant who came to the U.S. to pursue a career in medicine.
Why I gave my kidney to a stranger — and why you should consider doing it too
Dylan Matthews donated his left kidney to a perfect stranger, in what’s known as a “non-directed” donation. Dylan’s kidney initiated a donation chain in which four people received live-saving kidney transplants.
Behind the Story: NYT’s Rukmini Callimachi on Covering ISIS Sex Slaves
An as-told-to account of what has to be one of the most emotionally challenging jobs in journalism: interviewing women enslaved by ISIS fighters, reporting on their experiences being repeatedly raped and having their lives threatened. Fearless New York Times writer Rukmini Callimachi talks to Elon Green.
The Loneliness Recipe
In searching for a Korean radish called mu in a bid to make her grandmother’s soup, Vivien Lee meditates on family and food — what it means to be Korean in the West — where the burning desire for individuality is at odds with the communal approach to life, food, and family in the East.
The subtle brilliance of Sesame Street’s first episode starring an autistic Muppet
Dylan Matthews reflects on growing up with autism and reviews Sesame Street’s approach to raising awareness with a new autistic character named Julia. Sesame Street doesn’t focus on Julia navigating her world, it focuses on Elmo and Abby Cadabby — a neurotypical monster and fairy, respectively — who help Big Bird understand why Julia plays and acts the way she does. Elmo and Abby revel in Julia’s style of play and in doing so, encourage Big Bird to join the fun so that everyone can have a good time. Matthews posits that with Sesame Street’s clout among the young, and the research to back up the fact that the show “encourages prosocial, cooperative behavior among children,” Julia could have a real influence on how society embraces those with autism in the future.
Considering the Wall
Hadrian’s Wall, that is. Max Adams explores Britain’s lost early medieval past by walking its ancient paths.
Arkansas’ Tradition of Assembly-Line Killing
Arkansas plans to execute seven people by lethal injection this month — with an untested, nearly-expired drug.
Last of New York’s Master Wigmakers
At a time when wigs are increasingly popular, the New York artisans who make them by hand are a vanishing breed.
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