Spoiler Alert

Inside the byzantine, secretive, Rube Goldbergian world of food inspection and safety (or, why we still can’t stop bags of baby spinach from making us sick).

Published: Sep 21, 2016
Length: 20 minutes (5,140 words)

Prince of Peace

San Salvador’s upstart mayor, Nayib Bukele, has promised a new way forward for a city besieged by decades of violence. His biggest obstacle, however, may not be the city’s gangs, but the city’s idea of itself.

Source: VQR
Published: Oct 5, 2016
Length: 25 minutes (6,425 words)

Cable News Charnel

Why do US news outlets air graphic clips of ISIS violence, or even ISIS propaganda videos? And what are the forces driving the news’ focus on civil violence within American borders? An essay on the ways media looks out for itself.

Source: The Baffler
Published: Jul 1, 2015
Length: 20 minutes (5,155 words)

Special Investigation: Inside the Deadly Rhino Horn Trade

National Geographic correspondent Bryan Christy and photographer Brent Stirton investigate the rhino trade and two key players who want to end the South African and international bans on trading and selling rhino horn.

Published: Oct 1, 2016
Length: 20 minutes (5,039 words)

Full Disclosure: A Reading List About Confessions

In these six stories, a drunk driver confesses via viral video, an ex-Catholic returns to confession, a high-school cheater reveals her indiscretions, and more.

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 10, 2016

‘We Are Building Our Way To Hell’: Tales Of Gentrification Around The World

Dispatches from Portland, Chicago, Paris, London, Montreal, Berlin, Lisbon and other cities around the world where rampant gentrification appears to be displacing whole communities and cultures and creating playgrounds for the rich.

Source: The Guardian
Published: Oct 5, 2016
Length: 12 minutes (3,025 words)

Asian American Voters Are Crucial To Victory. Will They Actually Turn Out To Vote?

Esther Wang travels to Las Vegas to whey the potential impact of Asian voters on the election, in a swing state like Nevada—the swing state with the highest proportion of eligible Asian American voters, and the country’s fastest-growing population of Asian Americans.

Source: Fusion
Published: Oct 5, 2016
Length: 10 minutes (2,634 words)

The Quest to Make a True Blue M&M

As consumer preferences change, the food industry is scrambling to replace artificial dyes used in their food with natural pigments, which is much harder to do than one might think.

Published: Oct 5, 2016
Length: 18 minutes (4,707 words)

Snarling Girl

An essay on ambition to end all essays on ambition.

Source: Hazlitt
Published: Oct 6, 2016
Length: 26 minutes (6,504 words)

The Clean

A former New York City house cleaner reflects on the odd materiality of other people’s lives.

Source: n+1
Published: Aug 26, 2016
Length: 17 minutes (4,467 words)