The Reader Is the Protagonist: Exiting a Horror Story

When a husband and wife try to disappear to escape a stalking ex and start a new life with their kids, books help them learn to live out in the open.

Source: VQR
Published: Apr 1, 2016
Length: 16 minutes (4,180 words)

How “Silicon Valley” Nails Silicon Valley

The HBO show “Silicon Valley” portrays the tech world accurately thanks to a network of more than 200 consultants, which includes “academics, investors, entrepreneurs, and employees at Google, Amazon, Netflix, and several other tech firms.”

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Jun 9, 2016
Length: 25 minutes (6,441 words)

Celebrate Pride: The Importance of LGBTQ History

This Pride series continues with stories and interviews surrounding LGBTQ history in the United States.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 12, 2016

The Old Man

“I called him Dad, or, on occasion, Father, until he was dead, and then a few weeks after his death, in casual conversations, mostly at dinner parties, telling the story of his death, I began to refer to him as my old man, saying things like: My old man wasn’t a bad guy, but I couldn’t see him, I mean really see the soul whom I called Father, until he was gone, and then it was too late.”

Published: Jun 1, 2016
Length: 34 minutes (8,534 words)

A Weekend in Chicago

Over Memorial Day Weekend, 64 people were shot in Chicago, a shocking level of gun violence that’s become standard in the city and is increasing. A group of journalists and photographers spent the weekend portraying the profound affect gun violence has on those who live here.

Author: Staff
Published: Jun 4, 2016
Length: 21 minutes (5,356 words)

Ripple Effect

Poisoned water, public distrust, citizen activism─Flint, Michigan is suffering an epidemic, but as one radicalized water engineer points out, when it comes to lead poisoning, the problem is nationwide.

Source: Wired
Published: Jun 1, 2016
Length: 21 minutes (5,250 words)

Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City

A deep dive into our nation’s entrenched problem with school segregation. Hannah-Jones explains how she and her husband decided to send their daughter to a local public school filled with mostly black and Latino students from disadvantaged backgrounds. That school, P.S. 307, has emerged as an example of the clash occurring over integration.

Published: Jun 9, 2016
Length: 40 minutes (10,129 words)

Bringing Bach to the Public

A conversation with violinist Michelle Ross, who, for a month, toured New York City playing Bach’s entire solo violin cycle in public spaces.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 9, 2016
Length: 15 minutes (3,866 words)

Head in the Cloud

What does “remembering” mean in an age where human memory is outsourced to gadgets and social networks?

Source: New Statesman
Published: Feb 23, 2016
Length: 11 minutes (2,995 words)

Unfriendly Climate

In Texas, one respected Christian atmospheric scientist uses the Bible to make the case why other Christians—frequently political conservatives—need to treat global warming as a global moral issue. Not everyone is listening.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: May 1, 2016
Length: 24 minutes (6,100 words)