COVID’s Cassandra: The Swift, Complicated Rise of Eric Feigl-Ding

“The scientist has gained popularity as COVID’s excitable play-by-play announcer. But some experts want to pull his plug.”

Author: Jane C. Hu
Source: Undark
Published: Nov 25, 2020
Length: 28 minutes (7,200 words)

The Inside Story of Michigan’s Fake Voter Fraud Scandal

“How a state that was never in doubt became a ‘national embarrassment’ and a symbol of the Republican Party’s fealty to Donald Trump.”

Source: Politico
Published: Nov 24, 2020
Length: 29 minutes (7,400 words)

José Andrés Embraces the Chaos

“Thousands of restaurants have closed while millions of Americans go hungry. It took a celebrity chef turned gonzo humanitarian to do something about it.”

Author: Jane Black
Published: Nov 24, 2020
Length: 26 minutes (6,500 words)

The Giving Apps: How Venmo and Cash App Upended a Century-Old Charity Model

“In 2020, Venmoing total strangers in need became a radical act of support — and trust.”

Source: OneZero
Published: Dec 2, 2020
Length: 15 minutes (3,847 words)

Grizzlies at the Table

“The carcass is a reminder that bears remain a threat even today; accordingly, there are a few things I need to know before I step outside the Wuikinuxv lodge, according to the facility’s manager. “If you smell something, it’s a bear,” Judy says. “If the dogs are going crazy, it’s a bear.””

Source: Beside
Published: Nov 23, 2020
Length: 12 minutes (3,149 words)

The Mystery of the Gatwick Drone

“In public, the airport and police stuck firm to the idea that there was definitely a drone incursion. But privately, some have doubts. “We work on evidence, and I haven’t seen any. That’s really all there is to say,” one police officer with knowledge of the case told me.”

Source: The Guardian
Published: Dec 1, 2020
Length: 21 minutes (5,411 words)

The Imposter

“Shaun MacDonald was an ambitious tech innovator whose start-up was going to revolutionize the crypto economy. His wealthy investors had no idea that their charismatic founder was really Boaz Manor, a notorious Canadian white-collar criminal. It was only a matter of time before they discovered the truth.”

Source: Toronto Life
Published: Nov 24, 2020
Length: 22 minutes (5,668 words)

Yo-Yo Ma and the Meaning of Life

David Marchese interviews cellist Yo-Yo Ma on music, politics, culture, the pandemic, stereotypes, and the meaning of life.

Published: Nov 20, 2020
Length: 12 minutes (3,132 words)

Orpheus Revolving

“’Oh, the beautiful poem!’ He laughed again. ‘The beautiful, beautiful poem! It’s very easy to appreciate the beauty of art and ‘the profound note’ when things are good. When people are dying around you it’s a lot harder to do.'”

Source: n+1
Published: Nov 13, 2020
Length: 38 minutes (9,620 words)

A Legacy of Endless Limbo

“Caught in Australia’s campaign to ‘stop the boats’, 30,000 people reached the shore only to enter a legal limbo. Meet the ‘legacy caseload’ and the system that keeps them in perpetual uncertainty.”

Published: Nov 30, 2020
Length: 40 minutes (10,000 words)