The Detective of Northern Oddities

A profile of Kathy Burek, a veterinary pathologist who performs necropsies on animals (whales, sea otters, polar bears) that mysteriously turn up dead in Alaska.

Source: Outside
Published: Jan 4, 2017
Length: 24 minutes (6,045 words)

Finland’s Reindeer Herders Get a Lot More Than Meat From Their Work

Is the ancient Scandinavian tradition of reindeer herding ending? Changes in climate and economics are rapidly changing the industry.

Author: Staff
Source: The Economist
Published: Dec 24, 2016
Length: 6 minutes (1,681 words)

Strange Women

Kuhns’ lively, detailed account of the revolutionary female musicians who made Vancouver, British Columbia’s underground music culture in the 1970s was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in 2015. Many of us Americans missed it, because it’s from Canada, and we don’t pay close enough attention to life up there. This article is worth paying attention to.

Source: Geist
Published: Jan 1, 2014
Length: 26 minutes (6,640 words)

Explaining My Multiracial Identity (So Others Don’t Do It For Me)

Jaya Saxena’s personal essay on the complications of owning her three racial identities–white, Indian and multi-racial–and dealing with the many ways people see her, and feel entitled to define her.

Source: Catapult
Published: Jan 4, 2017
Length: 8 minutes (2,099 words)

One Man’s Quest to Change the Way We Die

A profile of Dr. B.J. Miller, a triple amputee whose own near-death experience in college–and his return to life afterward–inform his approach to palliative care.

Published: Jan 3, 2017
Length: 33 minutes (8,250 words)

Old Dirt

Andrew Evans celebrates the wonders of farming and crafting clay pots — two occupations based on making something out of dirt with honest labor.

Published: Nov 21, 2016
Length: 10 minutes (2,526 words)

A Sober Utopia

At Pacific Standard, Will McGrath reports on Fort Lyon — “a Betty Ford Center for the homeless — a radical experiment to rehabilitate some of society’s most vulnerable members.”

Published: Jan 2, 2017
Length: 22 minutes (5,539 words)

NPR’s Mobile Home Series

A two-part report on conditions at mobile home parks in the U.S. Read parts one and two here.

Source: NPR
Published: Dec 26, 2016
Length: 18 minutes (4,500 words)

The Prisoner

In 1991, twelve-year-old Edwin Debrow killed a cab driver. Twenty-five years later, he remains in prison, continuing to be denied parole since 1999. Is the public better served by putting youngsters in adult prisons and keeping them off the streets for years and years?

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Dec 27, 2016
Length: 30 minutes (7,598 words)

America’s Restaurant Bubble is About to Burst

With rising costs and competition from food startups, the trendy, farm-to-table style of sit-down restaurant might be facing extinction sooner than we think.

Source: Thrillist
Published: Dec 30, 2016
Length: 13 minutes (3,467 words)