Vote, Sing, Breathe

A night at the political opera seeing Appomattox, which depicts the end of the Civil War, the beginning of our era of systemic racism, and sings its social justice.

Published: Sep 8, 2016
Length: 12 minutes (3,130 words)

Dorchester County

The shameful history of slavery in Dorchester County, Maryland has caused some locals to resist further public recognition and historical preservation of escaped slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman’s work here on the Underground Railroad.

Published: Jul 14, 2016
Length: 10 minutes (2,711 words)

The Old Man

“I called him Dad, or, on occasion, Father, until he was dead, and then a few weeks after his death, in casual conversations, mostly at dinner parties, telling the story of his death, I began to refer to him as my old man, saying things like: My old man wasn’t a bad guy, but I couldn’t see him, I mean really see the soul whom I called Father, until he was gone, and then it was too late.”

Published: Jun 1, 2016
Length: 34 minutes (8,534 words)

The Long Rescue

A father goes to Nepal in search of his missing children, who have been kidnapped and forced into slave labor.

Published: May 16, 2016
Length: 28 minutes (7,223 words)

The Bed-Rest Hoax

Each year as many as 700,000 pregnant women are put on bed rest, but there’s still little evidence that it is effective. (Metered paywall.)

Published: Nov 13, 2015
Length: 16 minutes (4,039 words)

Lost Girls

Sarah Dohrmann on women and prostitution in Morocco.

Published: Oct 19, 2015
Length: 29 minutes (7,314 words)

A Grand Juror Speaks

Lewis-Kraus writes about serving on a Manhattan grand jury, where he found a system alarmingly bent towards the will of the prosecution.

Published: Mar 1, 2015
Length: 10 minutes (2,707 words)

Abolish High School

(Metered paywall.) Rebecca Solnit explores the downsides of high school culture, and why we need to reconsider it.

Published: Aug 21, 2015
Length: 9 minutes (2,300 words)

The Speakeasy

A lifelong comedy fan spends a week at Marty’s, a bleak Hollywood comedy club that specializes in open-mic stand-up.

Published: Jul 1, 2015
Length: 25 minutes (6,474 words)

My Undertaker, My Pimp

Jay Kirk examines the intersection of grief and lust in this profile of a disgraced undertaker-turned-brothel-owner.

Author: Jay Kirk
Published: Mar 1, 2002
Length: 29 minutes (7,333 words)