York & Fig: At the Intersection of Change

An examination of how the neighborhood of Highland Park in Los Angeles is quickly gentrifying. The team at Marketplace interviewed current and former residents, business owners, and investors and developers to paint a full picture of what’s occurring.

Author: Staff
Source: Marketplace
Published: Dec 1, 2014
Length: 36 minutes (9,005 words)

In and Out of Time in Iraq

A war reporter contends with PTSD.

Author: Tom Ricks
Source: The New Yorker
Published: Dec 5, 2014
Length: 12 minutes (3,170 words)

Larry Bird’s Greatest Shot Was the One He Didn’t Take

How basketball great Larry Bird almost walked away from the game.

Published: Dec 7, 2014
Length: 22 minutes (5,545 words)

Talking to Cheryl Strayed About What Made ‘Wild’ Work

How did Wild become such a huge bestseller? Oprah helps, but Kathryn Schulz talks to the author about how her story—now a movie starring Reese Witherspoon—resonated with readers.

Published: Dec 8, 2014
Length: 20 minutes (5,005 words)

Good Kids, Bad City

Ricky Jackson and the Bridgeman brothers were convicted of murder based on the coerced testimony of a 12-year old. This is the story of their exoneration after 39 years of wrongful incarceration.

Source: Cleveland Scene
Published: Dec 3, 2014
Length: 27 minutes (6,874 words)

Is Livestreaming the Future of Media, or the Future of Activism?

On the livestreamers hitting the streets to bring thousands of online viewers an unedited look at the protests occurring in Ferguson and elsewhere.

Published: Dec 7, 2014
Length: 14 minutes (3,739 words)

The Worst Industrial Disaster in the History of the World

Siddhartha Deb on the legacy of the Bhopal gas tragedy.

Source: The Baffler
Published: Dec 1, 2014
Length: 20 minutes (5,155 words)

In Pahokee, Football Serves as a Way Out

In a small, impoverished town in Florida, a high school football player works diligently to get a college scholarship and fulfill his dreams of playing for a Division I school.

Source: Tampa Bay Times
Published: Dec 4, 2014
Length: 28 minutes (7,127 words)

Pack Your Bags! Five Stories About Why and Where We Move

“Moving is on my mind, so here are five essays about relocating, repacking, and rearranging.”

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 7, 2014

Their Town

A border town controlled by Warren Jeffs, a leader of a polygamous sect of Mormons who is currently serving a life sentence in prison for sexually assaulting underage girls, has treated outsiders poorly and made life difficult for a former sect member and his family.

Published: Dec 5, 2014
Length: 19 minutes (4,926 words)