I Went to the Hospital to Give Birth… and Tested Positive for Meth

“When the nurse first told me, mid-labor, that there were methamphetamines in my system, I cracked up laughing at the absurdity. When child services showed up, it stopped being funny.”

Source: Narratively
Published: May 17, 2016
Length: 10 minutes (2,607 words)

This Is to Mother You: On Caring for a Toxic Parent in Her Greatest Time of Need

When her challenging, cancer-ridden mother suffers a psychotic break, Jane Demuth searches for the wherewithal to help the person who once demanded the most of her.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 30, 2016
Length: 10 minutes (2,632 words)

A Reading List for the Start of Summer

Stories in preparation for the summer season.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 29, 2016

What a 9,000-Year-Old Spruce Tree Taught Me

A photographer’s quest to document the world’s oldest living plants makes her reflect on the tricky relationship between art and science.

Source: Nautilus
Published: May 5, 2016
Length: 9 minutes (2,383 words)

To Break the Story, You Must Break the Status Quo

Advice for journalists, from Rebecca Solnit’s 2016 commencement speech at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

Source: Literary Hub
Published: May 27, 2016
Length: 14 minutes (3,550 words)

Is Everything Wrestling?

How politics and culture co-opted the narrative tricks of professional wrestling.

Published: May 27, 2016
Length: 7 minutes (1,800 words)

The Keyhole Seven

In September 2015, a group of canyoneers were swept away in a flash flood at Zion National Park in Utah. Grayson Schaffer reports on the worst disaster in Zion’s 97 years.

Published: May 24, 2016
Length: 21 minutes (5,389 words)

Sunk

A Chinese billionaire’s dream of becoming the next Steven Spielberg results in a big budget movie fiasco.

Source: The Atavist
Published: May 27, 2016
Length: 50 minutes (12,528 words)

Baking with the Bread Whisperers of Paris

Food writer Alex Lobrano leaves the laptop behind and joins the early-morning shift at an illustrious Paris boulangerie.

Source: Saveur
Published: May 2, 2016
Length: 6 minutes (1,682 words)

How to Survive a Visit From Your Mother

You may identify with this specific experience.

Published: May 26, 2016
Length: 6 minutes (1,587 words)