A profile of late author and activist Grace Paley, and her perseverance in fighting uphill political battles, on the page and in real life.
The Atlantic
Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Woolly Mammoths Roam
Ross Andersen’s captivating profile of Nikita Zimov and his quest to re-create a Pleistocene ecosystem is worth reading, not least for a fascinating explanation of how grasses went from being slimy ocean plants to covering huge swaths of the planet.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories by Sarah Menkedick, Adam Davidson, Ross Andersen, Victor Luckerson, and Tara Murtha.
Welcome to Pleistocene Park
In Arctic Siberia, Russian scientists are trying to stave off catastrophic climate change—by resurrecting an Ice Age biome complete with lab-grown woolly mammoths.
Where to Hide Dead Bodies and Thieves: the Laundry Chute
Dead bodies, thieves, skulls, and historical bits of ephemera that fly out of pockets on the passage down are just some of the hidden secrets that laundry chutes reveal.
Fifty Shades of Dreck (or, Save Two Hours and Read This Spoiler-Filled Review)
Christopher Orr, film critic for The Atlantic, watched Fifty Shades Darker — the second film in the series based on the super popular Fifty Shades of Gray books — so that you don’t have to.
Fifty Shades Darker: A Spoilereview
A blow-by-blow recounting of an awful, retrograde sequel.
Green Juice and the Grim Reaper
Michelle Allison pens an essay in The Atlantic our relationship to food and what really underlies our obsession with food choice and finding the “best” diet.
Eating Toward Immortality
For nutritionist and intuitive eating advocate Michelle Allison, diet culture is just another way of dealing with the fear of death.
Finding the Limit of a Nation of Laws: Integrity, or the Lack Thereof
This David Frum piece in The Atlantic is a roadmap to Trump’s likeliest path to authoritarianism and self-enrichment — and therefore also a guide to what Americans of conscience need to do to protect democracy.
