Here’s every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
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America’s First Addiction Epidemic
The alcohol epidemic devastated Native American communities, leading to crippling poverty, astonishingly high mortality rates — and a successful sobriety movement.
Stories are Everything: A PJ Harvey-Inspired Reading List
Frank Matt, inspired by PJ Harvey’s 2011 album Let England Shake, shares an article that resonates for each song on the record.
‘No One Should be Doomed to Just One Story’: An ‘S-Town’ Roundtable
How we feel about a person’s privacy seems to correlate with how much control they have in the decision to open up.
A History of American Protest Music: When Nina Simone Sang What Everyone Was Thinking
“Mississippi Goddam” was an angry response to tragedy, in show tune form.
Watching a Fall
The allure and shame of watching America’s last public hanging.
How ‘Cops’ Became the Most Polarizing Reality TV Show in America
What one of TV’s longest-running reality shows says about race and our relationship with the police.
How ‘Cops’ Became the Most Polarizing Reality TV Show in America
What one of TV’s longest-running reality shows says about race and our relationship with the police.
Did Brian Easley Have to Die?
A desperate veteran, missing his disability payment, walked into a bank and took several people hostage. This is how he got there.

