Our Picks
When Your Regional Symbol Becomes an Extinct Fish
Up and down the West African coast, the mighty sawfish -- one of the region's cultural anchors -- has all but disappeared. Will it ever return?
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Source: Hakai Magazine
Published: June 14, 2016
Length: 13 minutes (3300 words)
The Future of Disaster Relief Isn't the Red Cross
Team Rubicon breaks rules to put veterans to work and assist people in need. Is this the facelift the aid industry needs?
Author:
Source: Outside
Published: Aug. 25, 2016
Length: 20 minutes (5009 words)
My Son, The Prince Of Fashion
Chabon takes his 13-year-old son to Paris fashion week and gains a greater understanding of who he is.
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Source: GQ
Published: Sept. 27, 2016
Length: 20 minutes (5240 words)
The Surprising History and Ongoing Controversy Behind the True Panama Hat
"What North Americans refer to as the Panama Hat is actually a hat that is made in Ecuador. But the hats that are actually worn throughout the country of Panama, known as sombreros pintados, are quite different. On a recent journey to Panama to replace his worn-out Panamanian-made sombrero, travel writer Darrin DuFord met with one of the country’s most renowned hat makers to discover the origins of the infamous controversy and to find out that sombreros pintados are more than merely a simple fashion accessory for rural Panamanians — they are both a symbol of victory over foreign influence and a device for communicating one’s mood."
Author:
Source: Compass Cultura
Published: Sept. 27, 2016
Length: 13 minutes (3340 words)
Dispatches from the Rap Wars
University of Chicago professor Forrest Stuart describes the time he spent inside one of Chicago's most notorious gangs.
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Source: Chicago Magazine
Published: Sept. 19, 2016
Length: 17 minutes (4484 words)
A Reading List About Utopias
Here are five stories about utopian societies.
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Source: Longreads
Published: Sept. 27, 2016
Ruback
A newspaper journalist’s attempt to correct the record.
Author:
Source: Longreads
Published: Sept. 27, 2016
Length: 16 minutes (4136 words)
Far Away From Here
How do you define a place? An excerpt from Teju Cole's new book, Known and Strange Things: on Switzerland, photography, and telling the story of a place in pictures.
Author:
Source: White Noise
Published: Sept. 24, 2016
Length: 18 minutes (4552 words)
Quick Fix
"I Googled in succession, How to stop thinking about someone, and How to stop missing someone, and How to be so lonely you could eat your own arm. No matter what combination of glum post-break-up sentiments I typed in, the top hit was almost always wikihow.com."
Author:
Source: Real Life Mag
Published: Sept. 21, 2016
Length: 10 minutes (2595 words)
A Theory of Creepiness
Why you're not the only one weirded out by someone holding a bag full of taxidermy reptiles standing too close to you and smiling blankly. Scary and creepy are different things.
Author:
Source: Aeon
Published: Sept. 19, 2016
Length: 12 minutes (3200 words)
