On Edgar Allan Poe

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson on the unknowability of Poe and his work, and the difficulty in interpreting Poe’s unusual and only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, which, among other things, is considered to be one of the inspirations for Moby Dick.

Published: Feb 13, 2015
Length: 10 minutes (2,692 words)

David Carr: 1956-2015

Here is a brief reading list of stories by and about Carr, his life and work. It doesn’t even begin to cover it. We will miss him.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 12, 2015

How Immigrant Activists Changed L.A.

How LA’s Latino immigrant population mobilized for progressive change in the city by building broad-based coalitions for economic and social justice.

Source: Dissent
Published: Feb 9, 2015
Length: 16 minutes (4,170 words)

A Life on the Line

Billy Walters, who is arguably the most successful sports gambler ever, has been able to build an empire over four decades and outrun investigators—so far.

Author: Mike Fish
Source: ESPN
Published: Feb 6, 2015
Length: 18 minutes (4,612 words)

I Stalked My Psychiatrist

A personal essay about how a search for human connection devolved into an unhealthy obsession.

Source: The Atlantic
Published: Aug 5, 2014
Length: 11 minutes (2,870 words)

The People’s President

Uruguay’s José Mujica was every liberal’s dream president. But was he too good to be true?

Published: Feb 1, 2015
Length: 23 minutes (5,900 words)

Giving Visibility to the Invisible: An Interview With Photographer Ruddy Roye

With over 100,000 Instagram followers, photographer Ruddy Roye came of age in Jamaica, and has lived in New York City since 2001. He has photographed dancehall musicians and fans, sapeurs of the Congo, the Caribbean Carnival J’ouvert, recent protests in Ferguson and in New York, and the faces of the many people he meets and observes every day.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 12, 2015
Length: 17 minutes (4,489 words)

Life in the Algorithm

Forget Adam Smith, the all holy algorithm has become the new “invisible hand” that guides us. But what are these calculations, and how did they become so powerful?

Source: Adbusters
Published: Jan 9, 2015
Length: 8 minutes (2,090 words)

Really Good Shit: A Reading List

As the Japanese children’s book author Tarō Gomi once wrote: “everyone poops.” But we don’t talk about this openly or often enough. In fact, talking and reading about poop might make you want to hold your nose — but it’ll also open your eyes. Here are eight pieces about shit, from a DIY mixture a woman used to treat her life-threatening infection, to prehistoric poo that brings us one step closer to understanding the origins of life after the dinosaur age.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 11, 2015

Ten Years of Google Maps, From Slashdot to Ground Truth

An in-depth history of Google Maps.

Author: Liz Gannes
Source: Re/code
Published: Feb 8, 2015
Length: 17 minutes (4,475 words)