Jeong Kwan, the Philosopher Chef

The most amazing chef you’ve never heard of is Jeong Kwan — a 59-year-old Zen Buddhist nun who cooks in a remote temple south of Seoul, South Korea.

Published: Oct 16, 2015
Length: 9 minutes (2,456 words)

How to Become an International Gold Smuggler

Before getting nabbed by the Policía de Investigaciones — the Chilean equivalent of the FBI — 23-year-old Harold Vilches acquired and resold over 4,000 lbs. of gold worth $80 million in under two years. It all started with a Google search for gold dealers in Peru and YouTube videos on how to make your own gold ingots.

Published: Mar 9, 2017
Length: 16 minutes (4,230 words)

What Does It Mean To Be Human?

How much of your DNA is Neanderthal? In Gibraltar, Gaia Vince analyzes the genetics of ancient humans.

Author: Gaia Vince
Source: Mosaic Science
Published: Mar 7, 2017
Length: 16 minutes (4,018 words)

Donald Trump’s Worst Deal

Davidson does some deep reporting on a sketchy deal the Trump Organization oversaw in Azerbaijan. The building of the Trump Tower Baku is linked to notoriously corrupt oligarchs and financiers of terrorism.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Mar 6, 2017
Length: 32 minutes (8,095 words)

Patagonia and The North Face: Saving the World — One Puffer Jacket at a Time

The outerwear industry often touts its commitment to sustainability and ethical consumption — but can it reconcile its values with the demands of running a for-profit business?

Source: The Guardian
Published: Mar 7, 2017
Length: 23 minutes (5,783 words)

Strangers in a Cruel Land

The wretched state of U.S. immigration enforcement, becoming more wretched by the day.

Source: The Baffler
Published: Mar 6, 2017
Length: 14 minutes (3,528 words)

Welcome to Pleistocene Park

In Arctic Siberia, Russian scientists are trying to stave off catastrophic climate change—by resurrecting an Ice Age biome complete with lab-grown woolly mammoths.

Source: The Atlantic
Published: Mar 8, 2017
Length: 36 minutes (9,040 words)

The Making of a Mexican-American Dream

Sarah Menkedick profiles Vianney Bernabé, exploring what it means to be second-generation Mexican American today — a person with deep roots in Mexico and feet and future planted firmly in America. Educated, ambitious, and principled, Bernabé is destined for success. Menkedick posits that if America cannot reject this myopic resurgence of nativist (white) populism to embrace the skills and culture of Bernabé’s generation, it does so at its own peril.

Published: Mar 6, 2017
Length: 23 minutes (5,850 words)

How the World’s Heaviest Man Lost It All

Paul Mason ballooned to 980 lbs. eating to forget childhood abuse and horrific loneliness. Mason lost 700 lbs. after bariatric surgery and discovers that, despite the experiences now available to him with newfound mobility, happiness remains elusive; dramatic weight loss does nothing to treat the underlying depression and emotional trauma that caused him to eat to excess in the first place.

Source: GQ
Published: Mar 8, 2017
Length: 22 minutes (5,620 words)

Warren Beatty, Pauline Kael, and an Epic Hollywood Mistake

The roads in Hollywood are paved with failed projects. The New Yorker‘s 1970s film critic helped produce one of them, more proof that what goes into making blockbusters is often more interesting than what gets made.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Feb 1, 2017
Length: 21 minutes (5,361 words)