TheNewsGal, Edition No. 66
What a week! Here's what you missed.
All the things
The wrestler: Mike Schyck and hundreds of other Ohio State University athletes suffered sexual abuse by Dr. Richard Strauss. Schyck and many others believe then-OSU assistant wrestling coach Jim Jordan — now a congressman from Ohio — knew about it. This is an unprecedented look inside those locker rooms — and inside the mind of a victim. The best writing of the week, by a mile. Just ... wow. (Scott Raab, Esquire, ~32 min.)
Britney Spears was never in control. Why did I ever believe a teen girl could hold all the power? I thought this was just another Britney think piece, but it takes a turn midway through that elevates it to must-read status. (Tavi Gevinson, The Cut, ~20 min.)
You got the vaccine! What can you do now? Share with your people. (Rachel Gutman, The Atlantic, ~7 min.)
The future of the middle class depends on student loan forgiveness. The smartest piece I’ve read on this subject. (Anne Helen Peterson, The Goods, ~21 min.)
This rural liberal set out to talk to his pro-Trump neighbors. It didn’t go well — until it did. Still not sure how I feel about this piece, but absolutely enjoyed reading it. (Bill Donahue, Washington Post Magazine, ~21 min.)
I found the Bay Area hill in one of history’s most viewed photos. Wait, what? (Grant Marek, SFGATE, ~4 min.)
My brother’s keeper: Early in the Cuban Revolution, my mother made a consequential decision. The story I can’t stop thinking about this week. (Ada Ferrer, New Yorker, ~27 min.)
“Nobody listened to me”: The quest to be MTG. Really didn’t want to spend time on a Marjorie Taylor Greene profile, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. (Michael Kruse, Politico Magazine, ~30 min.)
In a candid interview, novelist, essayist, and professor Roxane Gay talks to Monica Lewinsky about finding a way to write about terrible things, doing double duty on therapy, and handling all forms of criticism. Most interesting convo of the year. (Monica Lewinsky, Vanity Fair, ~18 min.)
Millions of Americans qualify for the vaccine based on BMI. Why should we apologize for it? Love this. (Emma Specter, Vogue, ~7 min.)
What the FBI had on Grandpa. Crazy and so good; trust me. (Molly Jong-Fast, New York Review of Books, ~6 min.)
If you read one thing this week
Comedian Steve Way on the maddening injustices of dating while disabled. As candid as it gets. (Yang-Yi Goh, GQ, ~7 min.)