TheNewsGal, Edition No. 86

What a week! These are the standouts.

All the things

• Aly Raisman Still Wants Answers: The two-time Olympic gymnast discusses the sport’s recent reckonings — and all the work that’s left to be done. She’s the best. (Eren Orbey, New Yorker, ~20 min.)

• The Fire That Forged Giannis Antetokounmpo: The trials and tribulations that helped the Bucks star go from a baby-faced rookie to a superstar with a mean streak — and that scowl. A good one even for non-fans. (Mirin Fader, The Ringer, ~31 min.)

• “A lesson in loss, humility, and absurdity”: How rhythmic gymnastics took over my childhood. I’ll never say no to a first-person piece about gymnastics. (Rebecca Liu, The Guardian, ~19 min.)

(Signe Fuglesteg Luksengard / The Guardian)

• From Oslo pram guy to the teenage vacuum expert: Inside the obsessive world of niche online reviewers. I’m fascinated. (Amelia Tait, The Guardian, ~16 min.)

• A Year of Avoiding Eviction in Tennessee: For one family, the CDC moratorium has been essential. It’s about to expire. Harrowing. (Oliver Whang, New Yorker, ~18 min.)

• Matt Damon’s Disappearing Acts: The enduring career of the megastar no one really knows. Compulsively readable. (David Marchese, New York Times Magazine, ~28 min.)

• The Superhumanity of Simone Biles. #GOAT. (William Leitch, Intelligencer, ~5 min.)

• Call Me a Traitor: Daniel Hale exposed the machinery of America’s clandestine warfare. Why did no one seem to care? Gripping. (Kerry Howley, New York Magazine, ~38 min.)

(Jamie Squire, Getty Images)

• The Cursed Trick That Almost Cost Suni Lee a Gold Medal: Should they ban the wolf turn just for being the ugliest? I die. (Rebecca Schuman, Slate, ~5 min.)

• Olympic runner Emily Infeld’s harrowing three-year ordeal with a stalker. Every woman’s worst nightmare, just brutal. (Aishwarya Kumar and Paula Lavigne, ESPN, ~26 min.)

• Everyone on Death Row Gets a Lawyer. Not Everyone Gets a Kim Kardashian. The case of Rodney Reed raises questions about celebrities’ role in the criminal justice system. America, sheesh. (Keri Blakinger and Maurice Chammuh, Marshall Project, ~7 min.)

• I’m a Parkland Shooting Survivor. QAnon Convinced My Dad It Was All a Hoax. Holy schnikees. (David Gilbert, Vice, ~5 min.)

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If you read one thing this week

(Courtesy Al Nixon via Washington Post)

• It started because he went to watch the sunrise. Now he’s a trusted confidant to strangers each morning from his bench. More of this, please. (Cathy Free, Washington Post, ~6 min.)