Labour of Love

“Again and again, the health-care system exploits the sense of obligation we have to one another.”

Source: Maisonneuve
Published: Aug 25, 2020
Length: 18 minutes (4,743 words)

The Conscience of Silicon Valley

“Tech oracle Jaron Lanier warned us all about the evils of social media. Too few of us listened. Now, in the most chaotic of moments, his fears—and his bighearted solutions—are more urgent than ever.”

Author: Zach Baron
Source: GQ
Published: Aug 24, 2020
Length: 20 minutes (5,100 words)

Mississippi: A Poem, In Days

“I am more successful than I’ve ever imagined. Yet, I am terrified of sleeping because my body no longer knows how to dream. I know that people die in their dreams. I am not afraid of death. I am afraid of being killed while dreaming. Driving while Black. Jogging while Black. Dreaming while Black. Fighting while Black. Loving while Black. I wonder if movement, mobility, love are the features of Black life the worst of white Americans most despise.”

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Aug 24, 2020
Length: 19 minutes (4,928 words)

The Wildest Insurance Fraud Scheme Texas Has Ever Seen

“Over a decade, Theodore Robert Wright III destroyed cars, yachts, and planes. That was only the half of it.”

Author: Katy Vine
Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Aug 19, 2020
Length: 26 minutes (6,633 words)

Accumulation and Its Discontents

“Whether collecting, storing or hoarding, we’ve always had our issues with stuff – not least deciding what’s worth having.”

Source: Aeon
Published: Aug 20, 2020
Length: 13 minutes (3,369 words)

The Life Breonna Taylor Lived, in the Words of Her Mother

“She started walking early—like at nine months, so she was just a little person early. I always say she had an old soul. She liked listening to the blues with my mother. She would sing me the blues. It was hilarious. She used to sing ‘Last Two Dollars.’ That was her song.”

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Aug 24, 2020
Length: 26 minutes (6,720 words)

Home Body

On the visible and invisible systems that connect our homes to the outside world — and that bring injustice, power imbalances, and the labor of others into our private spheres.

Source: Real Life Mag
Published: Aug 17, 2020
Length: 12 minutes (3,140 words)

A Lesson in Acceptance

In Houston, Texas, Bryan Washington explores what it means to be a regular at a restaurant — and how this type of relationship has evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: Oxford American
Published: Aug 17, 2020
Length: 10 minutes (2,540 words)

One Twitter Account’s Quest to Proofread The New York Times

“In 2017, the Times dissolved its copy desk, possibly permitting more typos to slip through. Meet the anonymous lawyer who’s correcting the paper of record one untactful tweet at a time.”

Source: The Ringer
Published: Aug 18, 2020
Length: 21 minutes (5,283 words)

Periwinkle, the Color of Poison, Modernism, and Dusk

Katy Kelleher meditates on mauve, purple, and periwinkle in history, art, and in the beauty of quarantine sunsets.

Published: Aug 19, 2020
Length: 8 minutes (2,115 words)