Losing My Religion: A Reading List

Four stories about the processing that comes with losing one’s faith.

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 5, 2014

Why Gangsters Who Broke Every Law Still Went to Services on Yom Kippur

Robert Rockaway on Prohibition-era Jewish mobsters, who—despite their criminal behavior—still saw religious observance as an integral part of their identity.

Source: Tablet Magazine
Published: Oct 2, 2014
Length: 6 minutes (1,690 words)

‘I Promise to Never Forget Where I Came From’

“They just look at him as LeBron James, the kid from the neighborhood”: Dan Robson reports from Akron and Cleveland in Ohio, meeting with Lebron James’s fans, surrogate father, former coaches, and the residents who watched him grow up.

Author: Dan Robson
Source: Sportsnet
Published: Sep 22, 2014
Length: 21 minutes (5,407 words)

Mind the Gap

Can Rebekka Bay reinvent the Gap brand for an “anxious, uncertain” generation?

Source: The Guardian
Published: Sep 27, 2014
Length: 8 minutes (2,114 words)

Thirteen Ways of Looking at Greg Maddux

They were best friends, and they both loved Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux. By the end of the season, tragedy struck.

Source: SB Nation
Published: Oct 3, 2014
Length: 37 minutes (9,354 words)

Who Killed Bugsy Siegel?

One family’s answer to one of America’s most famous unsolved Mob mysteries.

Published: Sep 29, 2014
Length: 35 minutes (8,884 words)

The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won

Paul Morantz helped bring Synanon down—and almost paid with his life. Here, he tells his story to Gizmodo’s Matt Novak.

Author: Matt Novak
Source: Gizmodo
Published: Sep 27, 2014
Length: 29 minutes (7,264 words)

The Story of the Longest Held American Prisoner of War

The incredible story of former CIA agent John T. Downey, who was captured during the Korean War and imprisoned in China for more than twenty years.

Source: Slate
Published: Sep 24, 2014
Length: 27 minutes (6,812 words)

Identity In Pieces: When You Don’t Know Where You Count

Jaya Saxena, whose mother is white and father is Indian, writes about her experience with being biracial.

Source: The Aerogram
Published: Oct 1, 2014
Length: 6 minutes (1,659 words)

Advocating for an Athlete: Our College Pick

“This week, student journalists at the Michigan Daily are not only covering the decision to keep quarterback Shane Morris in a football game following a horrific hit and subsequent concussion, but also challenging the University of Michigan’s athletic department leadership.”

Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 2, 2014