In a Bookstore in Paris

A profile of George Whitman, the eccentric deceased founder of cult bookstore Shakespeare and Company, and his daughter and successor, Sylvia.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Nov 1, 2014
Length: 27 minutes (6,841 words)

Untangling the Knot: My Search for Democracy in the Modern Family

Sabine Heinlein lived in a family where everyone was treated as equals. It didn’t work out like they had hoped. Heinlein explores how families communicate to find out what went wrong with hers.

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 30, 2014
Length: 15 minutes (3,966 words)

The Big-Eyed Children

In the 1960s, Walter Keane was celebrated for his sentimental portraits of wide-eyed children, which sold by the million. However an epic art fraud was actually being executed behind closed doors—his wife Margaret was the real artist in the family, working night and day to maintain his success.

Author: Jon Ronson
Source: The Guardian
Published: Oct 26, 2014
Length: 10 minutes (2,557 words)

One of Us

Memories of being a Southie kid and black in a mostly white neighborhood.

Source: Boston Magazine
Published: Oct 28, 2014
Length: 14 minutes (3,525 words)

The Foodbank Dilemma

What does the rise of food banks tell us about Britain today?

Source: New Statesman
Published: Oct 21, 2014
Length: 31 minutes (7,906 words)

The Decline of Student Activism: Our College Pick

Writing for the Harvard Political Review last month, Gram Slattery reported on the intersection of old activism and new media via Divest Harvard, a student group that wants the university to stop investing in fossil fuels.

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 29, 2014

Missing the Signs

The story behind a murder case that gripped two countries and spurred a Canadian family to take action against domestic violence.

Published: Oct 27, 2014
Length: 18 minutes (4,651 words)

Against the Grain

A closer look at what we still don’t know about gluten, and whether going “gluten-free” is a good idea.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Oct 28, 2014
Length: 27 minutes (6,796 words)

The Great Paper Caper

Wells Tower talks to Frank Bourassa, the “most prolific counterfeiter in American history” who reproduced more than $200 million in nearly flawless fake twenty dollar bills.

Source: GQ
Published: Oct 28, 2014
Length: 21 minutes (5,491 words)

Homesick for Detroit

As the city’s political and business elite woo expats with post-bankruptcy blueprints, a native son contends with his hometown’s past and future.

Published: Oct 19, 2014
Length: 8 minutes (2,035 words)