TheNewsGal, Edition No. 89
What a week! These are the standouts.
All the things
Trying — and Failing — to Save the Family of the Afghan Who Saved Me: Twelve years ago, Tahir Luddin helped us both escape after we were kidnapped by the Taliban. Now I am struggling to get his family out of Kabul. My god. (David Rohde, New Yorker, ~11 min.)
A Lawyer’s Deathbed Confession About a Sensational 1975 Kidnapping: Samuel Bronfman, heir to the Seagram fortune, was abducted by two men who confessed to the crime. But then their story evolved wildly, and the jury believed it. Was it all a lie? Now this is a story. (Alex Traub, New York Times, ~15 min.)
Sebastian Perez Did Not Have to Die: The extreme-heat death of an Oregon farmworker and hundreds of others in June could have been avoided. Climate negligence and lagging worker protections are killing people. Heartbreaking. (Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, ~23 min.)
Shipwrecked: A Shocking Tale of Love, Loss, and Survival in the Deep Blue Sea. Holy schnikees. (Kevin Koczwara, Boston Magazine, ~22 min.)
The Arc of History Bends Toward Emotional Support Peacocks. Funny and fascinating. (Wesley Yang, Year Zero, ~8 min.)
Why Was Vicha Ratanapakdee Killed? His death helped awaken the nation to a rise in anti-Asian violence. For his grieving family, the reckoning hasn’t gone far enough. Another heartbreaker. (Jaeah Lee, New York Times Magazine, ~39 min.)
Owen Wilson Is Doing Great, Thanks: Three days with the star of Loki, The French Dispatch, and all those movies you know by heart. Gotta lighten things up around here. (Ryan D’Agostino, Esquire, ~33 min.)
How a Board Game About Birds Became a Surprise Blockbuster: Elizabeth Hargrave’s Wingspan is transforming an $11 billion industry. And it’ll transform the way you think about games. Purchase! (Dan Kois, Slate, ~17 min.)
If you read one thing this week
Biden’s Betrayal of Afghans Will Live in Infamy: Our abandonment of the Afghans who helped us, counted on us, and staked their lives on us is a final, gratuitous shame that we could have avoided. Devastating. (George Packer, The Atlantic, ~13 min.)