Confessions of a Watch Geek

A reported personal essay by Gary Shteyngart. The Russian-born novelist and memoirist confesses to an obsession with expensive mechanical watches, which intensified through the 2016 Presidential race. He quells his growing anxiety by taking tours of German watchmaking facilities, and comparing rarefied ticking treasures with other watch geeks.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Mar 20, 2017
Length: 21 minutes (5,474 words)

Moved by Kim

Seth Davis Branitz had an awful suspicion he’d feel relieved when, some day, his very troubled brother would pass. He had no idea about the other ends it would rapidly bring with it.

Source: Longreads
Published: Mar 23, 2017
Length: 16 minutes (4,085 words)

Domino’s Atoned for Its Crimes Against Pizza and Built a $9 Billion Empire

The once-flagging pizza chain launched dozens of digital marketing initiatives and made headline-grabbing changes to its delivery trucks, but their rebound can be traced to just one thing — making the pizza better.

Published: Mar 13, 2017
Length: 14 minutes (3,630 words)

Our Messed-Up Relationship with Food Has a Long History. It Started With Butter.

Our on-again, off-again, on-again relationship with the holy (yes, holy) fat.

Source: Washington Post
Published: Mar 21, 2017
Length: 8 minutes (2,142 words)

The Bounty of the Bone Pile

Butchered whales lure polar bears and tourists to a coastal Alaskan town. So far, so good. Sort of.

Source: Hakai Magazine
Published: Feb 27, 2017
Length: 9 minutes (2,400 words)

John Hinckley Left the Mental Hospital Seven Months Ago

Can a man who tried to murder a president be rehabilitated?

Published: Mar 21, 2017
Length: 27 minutes (6,839 words)

Inside the Identity Crisis at the Independent Journal Review, the Outlet That Has Become a Powerhouse in the Trump Era

Founded in 2013 to repackage conservative news stories, IJR grew into a news-gathering organization, but they’ve stumbled as they’ve evolved, from a retracted conspiracy theory to clashes between the content and editorial sides. The biggest criticism is that the company’s partisan position makes their stories part of the Trump propaganda machine.

Published: Mar 21, 2017
Length: 13 minutes (3,492 words)

The Hollywood Exec and the Hand Transplant That Changed His Life

In her final feature for Los Angeles Magazine, Amy Wallace tells the incredible story of Jonathan Koch, “one of Hollywood’s great closers,” who lost several limbs and nearly his life to septic shock before receiving a revolutionary hand transplant.

Published: Mar 20, 2017
Length: 36 minutes (9,000 words)

The Swiss Invasion

You don’t shop on Saturday if you live in Konstanz, Germany. Why? The Swiss.

Published: Mar 5, 2017
Length: 8 minutes (2,007 words)

Memoirs of Addiction and Ambition

Cat Marnell’s new memoir How to Murder Your Life, like Julia Phillips’ famous You’ll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again, is an extreme spectacle of women in capitalism.

Author: Naomi Fry
Source: New Yorker
Published: Mar 16, 2017
Length: 6 minutes (1,551 words)