He’d Waited Decades to Argue His Innocence. Nobody Knew She Suffered from Alzheimer’s.

“Nelson Cruz’s family was so sure Judge ShawnDya Simpson would free him, they brought a change of clothes to his hearing. Then everything took an unexpected turn. Can justice ever be sorted out?”

Author: Joe Sexton
Source: ProPublica
Published: Oct 12, 2020
Length: 51 minutes (12,948 words)

Lives, on the Line

Six lives changed forever, as COVID-19 swept across Minnesota.

Source: Star Tribune
Published: Oct 2, 2020
Length: 43 minutes (10,816 words)

Returning the Gaze

“Uighurs in exile are fighting back against China’s techno-authoritarianism to locate their relatives who have been disappeared.”

Source: Rest of World
Published: Oct 6, 2020
Length: 18 minutes (4,749 words)

A mentally ill man, a heavily armed teenager, and the night Kenosha burned

“Cast by conservatives as a battle between antifa agitators and a right-wing ‘patriot,’ this summer’s deadliest protest-related incident was not quite what it seemed.”

Published: Oct 3, 2020
Length: 15 minutes (3,944 words)

‘Being Racist Is Not Against the Law’

A broken window and a gun led to the death of James Scurlock outside a bar in Omaha. The search for justice began, and another death followed.

Author: Max Ufberg
Source: GEN
Published: Oct 7, 2020
Length: 16 minutes (4,226 words)

Water is Life

“As I climbed and skied over rapidly receding snowfields, the journeys felt akin to doing final rounds of visits with my elders who are sick and soon to walk on into the next world.”

Published: Oct 5, 2020
Length: 17 minutes (4,391 words)

How “Am I the Asshole?” Created a Medium Place on the Internet

“The famous subreddit started as a forum for one man to ask about his workplace behavior. Seven years later, it’s become a platform where millions of people discuss good, bad, and everything in between. How did it get here? And can it actually help make people better?”

Source: The Ringer
Published: Oct 7, 2020
Length: 20 minutes (5,060 words)

Only One of Their Children Survived Sandy Hook. Now School Posed a New Threat: The Virus.

“After losing their 6-year-old daughter in a mass shooting, can Isaiah Marquez-Greene’s parents bear to let him return to high school during a pandemic?”

Published: Oct 7, 2020
Length: 19 minutes (4,762 words)

The Inside Story of MacKenzie Scott, the Mysterious 60-Billion-Dollar Woman

Stephanie Clifford explores the life of MacKenzie Scott: Amazon’s first employee, Jeff Bezos’s ex-wife, and one of the richest women in the world who is reimagining tech philanthropy.

Source: Marker
Published: Oct 6, 2020
Length: 22 minutes (5,501 words)

Thousands of D.C. Renters Are Evicted Every Year. Do They All Know to Show Up to Court?

Two men, Karl Stephens and Matthew Buck, serve 60 percent of summons to local tenants whom landlords want to evict. A months-long investigation reveals troubling discrepancies in their work—like the time Stephens said he was out trying to serve 15 tenants when, in fact, he was sitting in court facing a DWI charge.

Source: DCist
Published: Oct 6, 2020
Length: 32 minutes (8,025 words)