Roots and Genes

Nelson uses Alex Haley’s seminal 1976 book “Roots” as a backdrop to explore the quest for African American identity and the appeal of genetic ancestry testing.

Source: Aeon
Published: Jan 4, 2016
Length: 19 minutes (4,787 words)

Someday Never Comes

On Marie Kondo and our own mortality.

Source: Slate
Published: Jan 3, 2016
Length: 6 minutes (1,624 words)

The Devastating Story of Washington’s Peeping-Tom Rabbi

A chilling and painstakingly reported account of the fall of a prominent D.C. rabbi. Barry Freundel secretly filmed 52 women while they undressed for a mikvah, or sacred ritual bath.

Source: Washingtonian
Published: Jan 3, 2016
Length: 23 minutes (5,950 words)

The Mogul of the Middle

Friend goes inside the offices of STX Entertainment in Burbank, California, providing a revealing look at how movies are green lit, made and marketed in a foundering industry.

Author: Tad Friend
Source: The New Yorker
Published: Jan 4, 2016
Length: 44 minutes (11,000 words)

The Strange, Sad Quest to Match a Severed, Embalmed Head with its Story

The embalmed head found in the woods defied logic. It had been carefully preserved yet carelessly discarded, and appeared almost alive. But who was she and where was her body?

Source: Washington Post
Published: Dec 15, 2016
Length: 8 minutes (2,080 words)

My Brother, the Murderer

A woman provides a new suspect for a 45-year-old murder mystery.

Source: D Magazine
Published: Jan 1, 2016
Length: 16 minutes (4,129 words)

It’s in the Stars: A Reading List About Astrology

In 2015, I started to copy my weekly horoscopes into my journal. I didn’t do it every week, but I did it often enough that it became something like a practice. 2015 was rough, and it feels right to start off 2016 on an optimistic, mystical note.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 3, 2016

For the Wealthiest, a Private Tax System That Saves Them Billions

How the rich save billions by shaping tax policy in the U.S., using loopholes and sophisticated strategies unavailable to “normal wage-earners.”

Published: Dec 29, 2015
Length: 14 minutes (3,717 words)

ISIS in Gaza

Sarah Helm investigates the roots of ISIS in Gaza and how Hamas is responding.

Author: Sarah Helm
Published: Dec 16, 2015
Length: 16 minutes (4,190 words)

A Small Place for Fugitives

Jia Tolentino looks back at the two novels she started but never finished, and what she learned about writing.

Source: The Awl
Published: Dec 28, 2015
Length: 9 minutes (2,407 words)