All the things
“We tried to be joyful enough to deserve our new lives”: What it’s really like to be a refugee in Britain. I hadn’t read anything like this before, and I’m ashamed to admit it. (Zarlasht Halaimzai, The Guardian, ~24 min.)
A haunting photo led a teacher to uncover alleged sexual assaults at Berkeley High: Last March, Genevieve Mage saw a 2003 yearbook photo of her colleague inappropriately hugging a 17-year-old student. She couldn’t let it go. WOW. (Ally Markovich, Berkeleyside, ~10 min.)
How to Achieve Sustainable Remote Work: Companies must move away from surveillance and visible busyness, and toward defined outcomes and trust. I can’t stop thinking about this. (Cal Newport, New Yorker, ~15 min.)
The Bootleg Fire is burning miles from my house — climate change has never felt more real. My cousin wrote this, and he nailed it. (Nick Johnson, Los Angeles Times Opinion, ~4 min.)
The Untold Stories of Wes Studi: When he broke through in Dances With Wolves and The Last of the Mohicans, he was cast as a terrifying villain. But for many in the Native community, he was a hero channeling decades of righteous anger. So good. (Tommy Orange, GQ, ~22 min.)
How Washington Mystics Point Guard Natasha Cloud Became the WNBA’s Unofficial Minister of Social Justice. I’m so impressed. (Mike Wise, Washingtonian, ~17 min.)
The Ballad of the Chowchilla Bus Kidnapping: In 1976, a school bus carrying 26 children and their driver disappeared from a small California town, capturing the world’s attention. Forty-five years later, we revisit the story. Jeezuz. And the storytelling! (Kaleb Horton, Vox, ~63 min.)
The Giver of Nicknames. I didn’t know this piece about boys at a fancy private school in Namibia was fiction until after I’d read it, and I loved it so much I’m including it anyway. (Rémy Ngamije, Lolwe, ~27 min.)
His Name Was Emmett Till: In 1955, just past daybreak, a Chevrolet truck pulled up to an unmarked building. A 14-year-old child was in the back. A haunting, lyrical feat of writing. (Wright Thompson, The Atlantic, ~34 min.)
The Man Who Filed More Than 180 Disability Lawsuits: Is it profiteering — or justice? Can’t it be profiteering and justice? (Lauren Markham, New York Times Magazine, ~29 min.)
No, You Beg: Adopting used to be a good thing that good people could do. These days, you’re probably not good enough. Just excellent. (Allie Conti, The Cut, ~22 min.)
The Legality of Love. A daughter reflects on assuming guardianship of her aging mother, and my goodness … (Sarah Kersey, The Rumpus, ~12 min.)
If you read one thing this week
I just learned I only have months to live. This is what I want to say. Tremendous. (Jack Thomas, Boston Globe Magazine, ~12 min.)