‘This Is Going to Change the World’

“As the new millennium dawned, a mysterious invention from a charismatic millionaire became a viral sensation—then went down in flames. Ever since, I’ve wondered: Was it all my fault?”

Author: Dan Kois
Source: Slate
Published: Aug 1, 2021
Length: 39 minutes (9,798 words)

The Night Gary Drove Me Home

“It is not a normal thing to do—to acknowledge to yourself that you may have slept with a serial killer.”

Source: Slate
Published: Jun 16, 2021
Length: 9 minutes (2,422 words)

Called by God

“With the help of OUR, a rich person can become a vigilante hero for the day, their living room transformed into a personal situation room. For those who can’t afford the situation room, Ballard carries the drama with him to every interview and every fundraiser.”

Author: Meg Conley
Source: Slate
Published: May 11, 2021
Length: 10 minutes (2,684 words)

Mr. Bailey’s Class

“Before he was Philip Roth’s biographer, Blake Bailey taught the eighth grade. His students say he made them feel special. They worshipped him. They trusted him. He used it all against them.”

Source: Slate
Published: Apr 29, 2021
Length: 27 minutes (6,763 words)

How the School Reopening Debate Is Tearing One of America’s Most Elite Suburbs Apart

Noreen Malone recounts the very public and heated debate around school reopening between a teachers union and wealthy, liberal parents in a Boston suburb.

Source: Slate
Published: Dec 18, 2020
Length: 24 minutes (6,178 words)

Why I’m Mourning the Arecibo Telescope

“In its 57 years, the massive radio telescope made some groundbreaking discoveries, but it also connected our hearts and minds to the cosmos.”

Source: Slate
Published: Nov 23, 2020
Length: 7 minutes (1,871 words)

Outta That Holler

“The rural poverty that created Dolly Parton.”

Source: Slate
Published: Oct 13, 2020
Length: 11 minutes (2,948 words)

You Could Make This Place Beautiful

Great,” she says resignedly. “What I’ll always be known for is writing this poem about how bad things are, and maybe they could be better, but they’re bad.”

Author: Dan Kois
Source: Slate
Published: Oct 6, 2020
Length: 18 minutes (4,647 words)

The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd

“A teenage clerk dialed 911. How should the brothers who own CUP Foods pay for what happened next?”

Source: Slate
Published: Oct 6, 2020
Length: 23 minutes (5,862 words)

“It Was Gone Overnight”

One restaurant’s struggle to weather the pandemic.

Source: Slate
Published: Apr 5, 2020
Length: 13 minutes (3,440 words)