TheNewsGal, Edition No. 74
What a week! Here's what you missed.
All the things
The Unlikely Success of Fish Sticks. Who knew?! (Ute Eberle, Hakai Magazine, ~5 min.)
You Robbie, You Baka: On having a twin with cerebral palsy and navigating school bullies. Oh, my heart. What a lovely read. (Brian Trapp, Longreads, ~36 min.)
Is This the End of the Leotard? The German gymnastics team’s full-body uniforms are a bold statement against sexualization and wedgies. I practically grew up in leotards, and I think I would have loved these. (Rebecca Schuman, Slate, ~8 min.)
In Defense of “In Defense of Looting”: On anti-racism, private property, and the Black-owned small business. I’m still thinking about this three days after reading. (Marian Jones, Lux, ~7 min.)
The Kitchen Bladesmith: When Bob Kramer decided it was time to make his own cutlery, he had no idea that his career turn would take him deep into the secret lives of knives. I have next to no interest in this subject, yet couldn’t put this down. (Todd Oppenheimer, Craftsmanship Quarterly, ~54 min.)
The secretary who turned Liquid Paper into a multimillion-dollar business. Love her. (Zachary Crockett, The Hustle, ~6 min.)
An Open Letter to Parents Who Use the Term “Special Needs”: The majority of the disabled community wants you to just … stop. Disabled people have been part of my family since before I was born, and still, I had no clue. (Kelly Dawson, Medium, ~5 min.)
American journalism’s role in promoting racist terror. I won’t soon forget these specific (and endless) examples of newspaper ads for slaves, editorials supporting slavery, and event notices for local lynchings. (Channing Gerard Joseph, The Nation, ~16 min.)
My parents were determined to avoid heroic medical interventions in their dying days, even before the pandemic. Why wasn’t anybody listening? I’m haunted by this Tweet from the writer: “I keep wishing I could show my mum this piece about her death.” (Kate Clanchy, The Guardian, ~18 min.)
“Floyd was my man. But George Floyd is a movement.” The private grief of Courteney Ross, George Floyd’s girlfriend. A tough read for sure. (Robert Samuels, Washington Post, ~24 min.)
The Secrets of the World's Greatest Jailbreak Artist: Master criminal Rédoine Faïd loved the movies, and his greatest crimes were laced with tributes: to Point Break, Heat, and Reservoir Dogs. When he landed in a maximum-security prison, cinema provided inspiration once again. OK, this is nuts. (Adam Leith Gollner, GQ, ~32 min.)
Invisible Kid: Sentenced to life in prison at 16, Adolfo Davis hoped a Supreme Court ruling would give him a chance at a new beginning. But nothing about freedom turned out as he expected. Make time for this. (Maddy Crowell, The Atavist, ~49 min.)
They wanted to call Roller World. Instead they’ve been calling the New York Times. Awesome. (Spencer Buell, Boston Magazine, ~5 min.)
If you read one thing this week
Life As a Man. Just trust me. (Rebecca Traister, The Cut, ~9 min.)