A Diamond and a Kiss: The Women of John Hughes

Revisiting the women of John Hughes’ ’80s teen films, whose complex characters were unable to avoid the trap of aspiring to domestic ideals of how women should be.

Source: Hazlitt
Published: Jul 5, 2016
Length: 33 minutes (8,447 words)

Why I Hate My Dog

In this lighthearted portrait of his family’s rescue dog, author Richard Gilbert explores the larger bond between human and animal.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jul 5, 2016
Length: 18 minutes (4,584 words)

Women Are Writing the Best Crime Novels

From Tana French and Natsuo Kirino to Gillian Flynn, women are writing crime novels that turn the old genre formula on its head, dispensing with heroes and more accurately reflecting our social media era, one where a murderer’s motives are no longer as clear as they were in Raymond Chandler’s day, and where emotional violence tastes precedence over gunplay.

Source: The Atlantic
Published: Jul 4, 2016
Length: 15 minutes (3,937 words)

Is God a Silverback?

“Protective, omnipotent, scary and very territorial, the monotheistic God is modeled on a harem-keeping alpha male.” Can evolutionary biology shed light on theology?

Source: Aeon
Published: Jul 4, 2016
Length: 13 minutes (3,446 words)

A Reading List for the Fourth of July

In between bites of hot dog and sunscreen applications, you can read about police brutality, what the rest of the world thinks about the United States, one woman’s American wardrobe and so much more. Happy Independence Day, America!

Source: Longreads
Published: Jul 3, 2016

Refugees Encounter a Foreign Word: Welcome

In Canada, ordinary citizens are clamoring to sponsor Syrian refugees and welcome them into their homes. The Times spent five months interviewing families and refugees about their experiences, which have been largely positive.

Published: Jun 30, 2016
Length: 22 minutes (5,511 words)

Angels in America: The Complete Oral History

Twenty-five years after its premiere, the behind-the-scenes story of Tony Kushner’s landmark play.

Source: Slate
Published: Jun 28, 2016
Length: 68 minutes (17,161 words)

All the Greedy Young Abigail Fishers and Me

Tolentino explores the recent “Becky With the Bad Grades v. UT Austin” Supreme Court ruling through the lens of her own experience writing college essays for privileged white high school students.

Source: Jezebel
Published: Jun 28, 2016
Length: 12 minutes (3,203 words)

The Fugitive, His Dead Wife, and the 9/11 Conspiracy Theory That Explains Everything

Kurt Sonnenfeld became a suspect in the death of his wife and moved to Argentina to start a new life. When the U.S. government pursued extradition, Sonnenfeld began insisting to Argentinian media that the U.S. wanted him for ulterior motives related to 9/11.

Source: GQ
Published: Jun 28, 2016
Length: 29 minutes (7,403 words)

The Shadow Doctors

An underground network of medical workers and trauma surgeons in Syria, led by David Nott, aims to spread medical knowledge as the Syrian government strives to eradicate it.

Author: Ben Taub
Source: New Yorker
Published: Jun 28, 2016
Length: 23 minutes (5,992 words)