This week, we’re sharing stories from Wright Thompson, Fred Kaplan, Tori Marlan, Casey Gerald, and Sarah Everts.
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1. The Barn
Wright Thompson | The Atlantic | July 22, 2021 | 7,350 words
“In 1955, just past daybreak, a Chevrolet truck pulled up to an unmarked building. A 14-year-old child was in the back. Hi name was Emmett Till.”
2. Why Did We Invade Iraq?
Fred Kaplan | New York Review of Books | July 1, 2021 | 3,828
“The most complete account we are likely to get of the deceptions and duplicities that led to war leaves some crucial mysteries unsolved.”
3. Penniless: Why a Victoria Man Has Gone Two Decades Without Money
Tori Marlan| Capital Daily | July 14, 2021 | 6,687 words
“His last purchases—beer, cigarettes, pot—occurred 18 years ago, he says, on his 31st birthday. He claims he hasn’t spent any money since. It’s true, his friends have told me. No money at all.”
4. Leon Bridges After Dark
Casey Gerald | Texas Monthly | July 19, 2020 | 10,772 words
“On the eve of his third album release, the Grammy-winning artist talks with unparalleled candor about the toll of stardom—and how his best friends saved his life.”
5. Smell You Later: The Weird Science of How Sweat Attracts
Sarah Everts | The Walrus | July 14, 2021 | 4,999 words
“It’s strong reactions like mine to jar fifteen that rouse belief in human sex pheromones, odorous chemicals that catalyze copulation. Insects have them, amphibians have them, mammals have them, so why wouldn’t we?”