Longread #306 -- Account of the Boston Carjacking Victim -- 4/30/13

This is a pretty incredible story telling the experience of the man carjacked by the Boston Marathon bombers. As it turns out, his careful planning and decision to flee helped considerably in identifying and tracking the suspects. It's easy to think in the abstract about what I'd do in this situation, and I can only hope that I would remain as calm and collected as this man.

"Carjacking victim describes harrowing night" by Eric Moskowitz
Published in the Boston Globe, April 26, 2013

Eric

Longread #305 -- Speeding Cops -- 4/29/13

This is part one of a three-part series that recently won a Pulitzer Prize for public service reporting. All three parts of the series are worth reading. The story probably doesn't shock anyone, which is part of why I think it was such a successful piece. The writers were able to quantify and clearly demonstrate just how commonplace this problem has become and to highlight the often tragic consequences that come with it.

"Above the Law: Speeding Cops" by Sally Kestin and John Maines
Published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, February 11, 2012

Eric

Longread #304 -- Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer -- 4/26/13

As someone who talks about these types of issues on a daily basis, it is hard for me to summarize this article. Obviously, there are people who will feel offended by some of it -- that is inevitable with an issue that is so emotionally-charged. But overall I think this is a remarkably balanced, informed, and reasonable take on the fight against breast cancer and how in many ways it has gone astray.

"Our Feel-Good War on Breast Cancer" by Peggy Orenstein
Published in the New York Times, April 28, 2013

Eric

Longread #303 -- Food Aid -- 4/25/13

This article provides excellent context to how the U.S. can and should respond in providing aid during international crises. While direct food aid has long been a standard means of sending support, numerous examples have demonstrated that this aid is inefficient and often counterproductive. In its place, the author offers several other forms of assistance (including just cash) that could be far more useful.

Thanks to Lucy for sharing the article!

"When Food Isn’t the Answer to Hunger" by Tina Rosenberg
Published in the New York Times Opinionator Blog, April 24, 2013

Eric

Longread #302 -- Space Invaders -- 4/24/13

It's amazing how often I still see multiple spaces after a period, and it's maddening. One space, people. This longread should settle it.

"Space Invaders" by Farhad Manjoo
Published on Slate, January 12, 2013

Eric

Longread #301 -- How the Mormons Church Makes Money -- 4/23/13

I had no idea that the Mormon Church had such extensive financial assets and also didn't comprehend how the businesses of the church are affected by theology. As a result, I found this to be really interesting and presented in a generally non-judgmental way.

"How the Mormons Make Money" by Caroline Winter
Published in Business Week, July 18, 2012

Eric

Longread #300 -- Violence of the Lambs -- 4/22/13

I thoroughly enjoyed this longread and love its style, content, and readability. Sullivan nailed the tone -- the entire piece simultaneously irreverent and serious -- leading to numerous nuggets of humor and wisdom.

Thank you to my roommate and reader/commenter B. Bruce for sharing this article with me.

"Violence of the Lambs" by John Jeremiah Sullivan
Published in GQ, February 2008

Eric

Longread #299 -- Sports Reporting -- 4/19/13

The nature of sports journalism has changed a lot in recent years, but some elements stay the same including the fact that many athletes are, for lack of a better term, a pain-in-the-ass to deal with. Today's longread is about how one columnist turned the tables in a classic piece of sports writing.

Happy Friday!

"Director's Cut: ‘Oh, No! Not Another Boring Interview With Steve Carlton,’ by Diane K. Shah" by Michael MacCambridge
Published on Grantland, September 21, 2012

Eric

Longread #298 -- He Who Makes the Rules -- 4/18/13

Yesterday politics-as-usual in the U.S. Senate derailed a seemingly moderate and consensus-driven gun control bill. One of the saddest parts of this ordeal, though, is that even if the law had passed, it likely still would have faced continued erosion through the rulemaking process. While this article is in the context of financial reform, it nevertheless demonstrates how the process of formulating regulation can be manipulated to weaken or eliminate key elements of important legislation.

"He Who Makes the Rules" by Haley Sweetland Edwards
Published in the Washington Monthly, March/April 2013

Eric

Longread #297 -- The Warlord and the Basketball Star -- 4/17/13

An entertaining but also somewhat saddening story. You'll probably have several forehead-slapping moments while reading this and wondering "how could they be so dumb?"

"The Warlord and the Basketball Star: A Story of Congo's Corrupt Gold Trade" by Armin Rosen
Published in the Atlantic, March 2012

Eric

Longread #296 -- One of Us -- 4/16/13

There's a lot going on in this article as it takes on a pretty expansive topic regarding human and animal consciousness. I find this to be an extremely rich debate and probably for that reason have a hard time finding definitive answers. A good read worthy of much continued pondering.

"One of Us" by John Jeremiah Sullivan
Published in Lapham's Quarterly, Spring 2013

Eric

Longread #295 -- The Nature Cure -- 4/15/13

So much of this article just made perfect sense to me in terms of how people respond when they have time to get lost in true natural beauty. I live in an amazingly scenic city, but it still doesn't compare to the forests and lakes and mountains and incredible surrounds. I also love the term "soft fascination" -- I had never heard it before but knew exactly the feeling when it was described in this article While I support trying to understand and quantify the health benefits of nature, my only concern is that the scientific measurement part could overtake the simplicity of just getting outside. But in general, I found this to be really interesting and to align closely with my own experiences.

"Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and Call Me in the Morning" by Florence Williams
Published in Outside Magazine, December 2012

Eric

Longread #294 -- Kindle Spam -- 4/11/13

This is a relatively short article, but it comes with an activity!

Recently, I was stumbled across an author who seemed too weird to be real. Marshella Goodsworth had written a host of cookbooks on eclectic topics and food combinations. At first I thought it might be a joke, but then I found out that spam has been taking over the Kindle store. It's an interesting though unsurprising phenomenon and one that Amazon will likely need to control to help advance a bigger future for ebooks.

The activity: post a comment with a favorite title from Marshella Goodsworth's published catalog of books! My personal favorite: Christmas Nachos Recipes. It would really make my Christmas if I got a gift box like the one on the cover, but it was full of 'chos piled high with all the fixin's!

I'll be on vacation tomorrow, so no longread will be posted.

"Kindle e-book store slammed by spam “authors”" by Casey Johnston
Published in Ars Technica,  June 17, 2011

Eric

Longread #293 -- The Weeklies -- 4/10/13

Because of the scale of the housing market collapse and the subsequent economic downturn in the U.S., it is often easy to focus on the statistics and to lose sight of individuals. This article brings many of the individuals to the fore in showing how they cope with the loss of their homes and savings. It is a useful reminder of the way that major economic or financial events impact people on a day-to-day basis. The saddest part of it is that in many ways, these families are much better off than many who had even fewer options for housing or income.

"The Weeklies" by Monica Potts
Published in the American Prospect, March 26, 2013

Eric

Longread #292 -- Do You Know the Muffin Man? -- 4/9/13

I post a lot of longreads that look at the dirty deeds of corporate America, so today's longread is a nice change of pace. The Jiffy Mix company is one that appears to value the long view rather than focusing predominately on short-term profits. Taking this approach facilitates Jiffy being a more ethical and a more successful business.

"7 Reasons This Muffin Mix Can Save America" by Cory Suter
Published on PolicyMic, March 2013

Eric

Longread #291 -- Baseball -- 4/8/13

Today is the Kansas City Royals home opener, which always represents a certain level of excitement as a new season -- and new hope -- springs anew. However, with a team like the Royals, after so many years of disappointment, it's sometimes hard to remember why we get so fired up by the return of baseball. In this post from Jeff Sullivan, who writes largely about another flailing franchise (the Seattle Mariners), he explores the way that baseball's uncertainty lures us in and gives meaning to our lives as fans.

The part about Franklin Gutierrez refers to a player for the Mariners who several years ago was seen as the face of the franchise and then has missed extensive playing time as a result of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (no joke) and other largely fluke-y injuries.

"Franklin Gutierrez Is Baseball" by Jeff Sullivan
Published on USS Mariner, April 5, 2013

Eric

Longread #290 -- Roger Ebert -- 4/5/13

Roger Ebert, a man who profoundly shaped the way millions of people watch and enjoy movies, passed away yesterday after a long-running battle with cancer. In this article, which was written nearly three years ago, writer Will Leitch gives his personal reflections on Ebert. It is an engaging story that also shows a great deal about Ebert's character and how he interacted with his readers.

If you are interested in reading more about Ebert, I also greatly enjoyed the Esquire profile of him by Chris Jones called "Roger Ebert: The Essential Man." It was also published in 2010. That profile has several long quotes from Ebert's essay writings about death, which you can access here: "I do not fear death" by Roger Ebert.

"My Roger Ebert Story" by Will Leitch
Published on Deadspin, March 1, 2010

Eric

Longread #289 -- All of the Lights -- 4/4/13

I don't think I will ever read an entire book about the history of neon, but I really enjoyed this review of some of the books on the topic. Our associations with neon are pretty interesting ranging from the basic "Open" sign to the largess of Las Vegas to the cliche clothing of the 80s.

"Illuminated Manuscripts: On the History of Neon" by Ariana Kelly
Published in the Los Angeles Review of Books, March 14, 2013

Eric

Longread #288 -- Selling Out -- 4/3/13

So this is a story of a guy with a dumb idea that unfolded in predictably stupid ways. Nevertheless, it's a comical and ridiculous read.

"Meet the Man Who Sold His Fate to Investors at $1 a Share" by Joshua Davis
Published in Wired, March 28, 2013

Eric

Longread #287 -- Used Clothes -- 4/2/13

Last night, the Seattle Mariners hosted an event that included printing approximately ten to fifteen thousand t-shirts. It's common to find these shirts -- often still unworn -- when browsing the aisles of the local thrift shop. As someone who commonly donates old or unwanted clothes to thrift stores, I typically assumed that these clothes were predominately being sold by the thrift shop itself. Instead, it turns out, most of these used clothes wind up being re-sold over and over until they are worn by the poor in Africa. While I realized that this type of reselling occurred, I had no sense of its scope until reading this article.

"How Susie Bayer's T-Shirt Ended Up on Yusuf Mama's Back" by George Packer
Published in the New York Times, March 31, 2002

Eric

Longread #286 - Unfit for Work -- 4/1/13

This article represents excellent reporting by NPR, which identified how the federal disability program has changed since its inception and now unexpectedly serves as a growing safety net for both sick and unskilled workers across the U.S. In addition to the story itself, I also find it interesting that the states that have the highest rates of unemployment are also states that most strongly support the GOP and conservative budget politics (notably those in the Deep South). It sort of reinforces the idea that no one like government spending -- unless it's to their benefit.

"Unfit for Work" by Chana Joffe-Walt
Published by NPR Planet Money, March 22, 2013

Eric