The First Christmas Meal

“To Robert May’s generation, Christmas was much more about the adult experience of the world—and it crackled with potential danger.”

Published: Dec 17, 2020
Length: 9 minutes (2,333 words)

‘No Choice but to Do It’: Why Women Go to Prison

“Many of the 230,000 women and girls in U.S. jails and prisons were abuse survivors before they entered the system. And at least 30 percent of those serving time on murder or manslaughter charges were protecting themselves or a loved one from physical or sexual violence.”

Published: Dec 17, 2020
Length: 32 minutes (8,100 words)

An Oral History of Fashion’s Response to the AIDS Epidemic

In the midst of a global pandemic, 25 fashion luminaries, including Marc Jacobs, Bethann Hardison, and Ralph Lauren, highlight a previously untold history of the AIDS crisis.

Source: Vogue
Published: Dec 16, 2020
Length: 62 minutes (15,500 words)

E Pluribus Country

“Politics flattens, but the best country music invites us into people’s complex and contradictory lives.”

Source: Dissent
Published: Mar 4, 2020
Length: 13 minutes (3,304 words)

The Weight of the World

“2021 kicks off the United Nations Decade on Ocean Science. Meanwhile, a local conservation group in Watamu, Kenya races to save endangered sea turtles—by enlisting human allies.”

Author: Amy Yee
Source: Terrain.org
Published: Dec 10, 2020
Length: 41 minutes (10,453 words)

Fruit Flies Are Essential to Science. So Are the Workers Who Keep Them Alive.

“Sustaining the world’s biggest Drosophila collection during the pandemic has been a challenge, but the people in Indiana who supply the insects to labs around the world stay dedicated to the task.”

Published: Dec 14, 2020
Length: 8 minutes (2,051 words)

‘I Am Mine’: This is What Alzheimer’s is Like At 41

“A swift and merciful end to Jo’s life is also the only deliverance Robin can see from this choice she doesn’t want to make, and the eventuality Jo never wanted for himself. “

Source: Maclean’s
Published: Sep 18, 2018
Length: 25 minutes (6,403 words)

The Curse of ‘White Oil’: Electric Vehicles’ Dirty Secret

“Everyone having an electric vehicle means an enormous amount of mining, refining and all the polluting activities that come with it.”

Source: The Guardian
Published: Dec 8, 2020
Length: 19 minutes (4,892 words)

Tethered to the Machine

“For years, JaMarcus Crews tried to get a new kidney, but corporate healthcare stood in the way. He needed dialysis to stay alive. He couldn’t miss a session, not even during a pandemic.”

Source: ProPublica
Published: Dec 15, 2020
Length: 31 minutes (7,785 words)

Leaving the Grace of This World

“More than 17 years ago, a successful Michigan attorney took his life on a cherished trout stream, devastating close friends and family. Haunted by what happened, his nephew investigated and discovered tragic truths that were in plain sight all along.”

Source: Outside
Published: Dec 10, 2020
Length: 41 minutes (10,445 words)