Meet the family behind Joy of Cooking, America’s favorite cookbook. (Electric Literature, ~10 min.)
As travel bloggers descend on war-ravaged Syria, a debate roils over the political correctness of Instagram-worthy visits. (The Daily Beast, ~25 min.)
The horrifyingly true story of a con man-turned-jailhouse “informant,” whose damning testimony landed dozens in prison — and four on death row. (ProPublica and New York Times, ~60 min.)
Pacific Northwest residents have a long, tumultuous history with the octopus, and this story — with its cast of lively characters — captures the relationship perfectly. (Seattle Met, ~15 min.)
The rural town of McKee, Ky., was brought to its knees by manufacturing job losses. Then a longtime community leader decided enough was enough — and made a plan to wire his small town with the fastest Internet in the country. (The New Yorker, ~15 min.)
Successful people love to tout the importance of a strict morning routine. It’s all bullshit. (The Atlantic, ~8 min.)
An unexpectedly heavy conversation with likely Oscar nominee Scarlett Johansson, during which the reporter asks her pointedly about her allegiance to Woody Allen. (Vanity Fair, ~18 min.)
At the University of Wyoming in 1969, 14 black players were kicked off the football team for considering joining a local civil rights protest. Fifty years later, the school is trying to make things right. (Washington Post, ~13 min.)
Two journalists spent 3 years chronicling the life of Belgian Paralympic gold medalist Marieke Vervoort, whose best-known endorsement was … euthanasia. (New York Times, ~17 min.)
This story about New York’s Penn Station is a brilliant lesson in why and how the government is incapable of accomplishing big things. (Politico, ~43 min.)
Riley Howell, the UNC-Charlotte student who charged a gunman and stopped the 100th mass shooting of 2019, died a hero. Now his parents, three younger siblings, and longtime girlfriend are learning how to live without him. (News & Observer, ~26 min.)
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