The Brief, Extraordinary Life of Cody Spafford

Cody Spafford had found solace and redemption working in the kitchen of one of Seattle’s hottest restaurants. What turned a promising chef into a bank robber?

Source: Seattle Met
Published: Mar 10, 2015
Length: 19 minutes (4,910 words)

Meet the Maestro

Robin Ticciati—the new music director for the UK’s Glyndebourne Opera company—is not your typical conductor. He’s young, “radically collaborative,” and out to shake things up.

Published: Mar 9, 2015
Length: 25 minutes (6,400 words)

Stories of Punctuation and Typographic Marks: A Reading List

From the now-ubiquitous hashtag (or octothorpe, hash, pound, or whatever you like to call it) to the loved, hated, and misunderstood semicolon, punctuation marks not only help us shape our stories, but also have their own origins and histories and have become part of the narratives of our lives. Here are picks about six punctuation marks, from the comma to the asterisk.

Source: Longreads
Published: Mar 11, 2015

Interview with a Torturer

Documentary filmmaker and Khmer Rouge survivor Rithy Panh spent hundreds of hours interviewing Duch, the commandant of the Cambodia “killing fields” and one of the most notorious torturers of the 20th century. This is his haunting memoir of those interviews.

Author: Rithy Panh
Source: Other Press
Published: Feb 1, 2013
Length: 49 minutes (12,355 words)

When Rock ‘n’ Roll Loomed Large Over the Sunset Strip

For nearly two decades hand painted rock ‘n’ roll billboards loomed large over the Sunset Strip. The billboards were ephemeral, but a budding young photographer documented them throughout their heyday.

Published: Mar 10, 2015
Length: 12 minutes (3,060 words)

My Father, the Philosopher

A daughter reflects.

Source: The Hairpin
Published: Mar 4, 2015
Length: 15 minutes (3,800 words)

Shitphone: A Love Story

John Herrman switches from his iPhone to a much more affordable “shitphone” and discovers how reliable mid-market gadgets can be.

Source: Matter
Published: Mar 9, 2015
Length: 13 minutes (3,492 words)

The Outcast at the Gate

After a child molester has been released from incarceration, where does he go?

Published: Mar 9, 2015
Length: 20 minutes (5,000 words)

A Very Naughty Little Girl

The extraordinary life of Janet Vaughan, who changed our relationship with blood.

Source: Longreads
Published: Mar 10, 2015
Length: 21 minutes (5,358 words)

Existentialism at Fifteen Baby-And-Me Movies

An essay about the overwhelming bliss and loneliness of new motherhood, through the lens of fifteen mornings spent in darkened movie theaters.

Source: The Fanzine
Published: Mar 9, 2015
Length: 10 minutes (2,720 words)