“As a black man claiming a manufactured cultural experience and ethnicity, Carrillo is a complicated figure.”
Rolling Stone
Justin Townes Earl: The Saint of Lost Causes
Fellow singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield, who frequently toured with Earle, described his gift more simply: “He was able to explain trouble better than most.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Elizabeth Weil, Amirah Mercer, Jason Motlagh, Esmé E. Deprez, and Michael Paulson.
Rush Drummer Neil Peart: Master Student
Neil Peart “was brilliant enough to skip two grades, starting high school at 12. He began drum lessons, practicing for a full year without an actual kit.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Timothy Snyder, Austin Carr, James Murdock, Myriam Lahouari, and Brian Hiatt.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Lucas Waldron, Nadia Sussman, Thalia Beaty, and Ryan Gabrielson, as well as Jamil Smith, Cynthia Tucker, Venkatesh Rao, and Sirin Kale.
If You Love the Music of the Carter Family, Thank Leslie Riddle
“First, you exclude black people from the festivals. Then write them out by not recording them. And pretty soon, ‘you have this manufactured image of country music being white and being poor.'”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Wesley Lowery, Sarah Bellamy, Shawn Yuan, Elamin Abdelmahmoud, and Gabrielle Bellot.
Greta Thunberg: “We Just Have to Care About Each Other More”
“It has become a disconcerting pattern for Thunberg appearances: Greta tells the adults they are fools and their plans are lame and shortsighted. They still give her a standing ovation.”
‘What’s this guy doing loose in Malheur County?’
He faked an insanity defense, got out, and immediately committed another crime, and this time people are dead. He’s going to plead insanity again.