Natural Selection: How a New Age Hustler Sold the Sound of the World

When you hear the recorded sounds of bird song or lapping waves in your acupuncturist’s office, this is where it all started.

Source: Pitchfork
Published: Nov 2, 2016
Length: 19 minutes (4,838 words)

Higher Ground

“Large-scale resettlement due to rising sea levels is no longer a thought experiment, some hypothetical slow-motion calamity in the hazy future engulfing remote coastal villages. This is Mumbai and Shanghai. This is Piazza San Marco in Venice. This is Manhattan and Miami.” Zachary Slobig visits Gardi Sugdub, a community in the Guna Yala archipelago of Panama looking to relocate to the mainland.

Source: Orion Magazine
Published: Nov 7, 2016
Length: 23 minutes (5,804 words)

The Charmer: How Robert Gagno Became One of the World’s Best Pinball Players

Robert Gagno, a real-life pinball wizard: “‘He doesn’t see the world like you and I see the world,’ says Dr. Andrew Reeves, the neurologist at Mayo. ‘He just can’t. I can’t see where the ball’s going to be like two bounces down the road. I don’t know about you, but I don’t do that. But he does that.'”

Source: ESPN
Published: Nov 13, 2016
Length: 25 minutes (6,342 words)

How Two Trailblazing Psychologists Turned the World of Decision Science Upside Down

As people critique the statistical systems used to predict presidential-election outcomes, the debate draws into question the reliability of predictions in general. But before there was Moneyball, two Israeli psychologists used baseball to understand the flawed practice of prediction.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Nov 15, 2016
Length: 31 minutes (7,918 words)

When a Populist Demagogue Takes Power

Rodrigo Duterte, the newly elected President of the Philippines, has normalized the killings of thousands of people—mostly poor—in a vicious drug war.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Nov 14, 2016
Length: 38 minutes (9,560 words)

Catholic Churches Built Secret Astronomical Features Into Churches to Help Save Souls

After centuries of war, Catholicism and science reconciled over meridian lines.

Source: Atlas Obscura
Published: Nov 15, 2016
Length: 14 minutes (3,658 words)

Remembering Gwen

An obituary for Gwen Ifill, a pioneering journalist who covered eight presidential campaigns and served as co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour.

Author: Staff
Source: PBS
Published: Nov 14, 2016
Length: 5 minutes (1,400 words)

The Hidden History of Gas Station Bathrooms, By a Man Who Cleans Them

Part of Narratively’s Invisible People series, which shares the stories of lives “behind the scenes and on the margins,” hopefully this essay can create a greater appreciation for those unseen workers who make our lives run more smoothly.

Source: Narratively
Published: Nov 9, 2006
Length: 9 minutes (2,485 words)

How Trump Made Hate Intersectional

“Progressives talk a lot about intersectionality — meaning, thinking about race and sex and class simultaneously — but Trump won the presidency by making hate intersectional. He encouraged sexists to also be racists and homophobes, while saying disgusting things about immigrants in public and Jews online. Hate, like love, is infectious, and it is contagious. And for so many, the adrenaline felt by blaming one group for one’s personal ills bled into blaming all the others.”

Published: Nov 9, 2016
Length: 6 minutes (1,513 words)

What Comes Next: Confronting a Post-Election America

“This week’s reading list is dedicated to marginalized voices. Some of these stories were written in the wake of this year’s election; others came before. I hope you read these and feel if not heartened, then more determined than ever to protest evil, protect marginalized communities/yourselves and share your lived experiences.”

Source: Longreads
Published: Nov 11, 2016