zingring
scrolling twitter today and then coming over here is like walking out of a burning building and then walking into the calm remains of a building that burnt down 5 years ago and has been reclaimed by nature.
Our Best of 2022 package continues with this remarkable list of features! Sweeping, hard-hitting, and emotional, each immerses us in a time and a place, introducing us to a fascinating set of characters that make for unforgettable stories. Dig in!
“The confrontation with Saïd was actually the most difficult part to write. We edited it several times. It’s really hard to write action in a way that doesn’t feel cheesy. It was such an intense and cinematic moment, because at that point, I had been reporting for two years or more. I was just pissed, honestly. I had all of this information, all of these leads, and it was all pointing towards this one person. And so when I finally had a chance to meet him, I was just filled with anger.
Over the years, a lot of people — family members, close friends — were like, ‘You should be more scared. This is dangerous.’ Again, because of the people that I worked with, I was never in situations that were extremely dangerous. One thing I realized in Turkey that really broke my heart: Even if I’m talking to someone who’s a human trafficker, or potentially a murderer, they’re much more scared of you than you are of them.”
In this episode of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, editor Seyward Darby and writer Sarah Souli discuss the latest @atavist feature, an incredible piece of investigative journalism which took over three years to complete.
Read an excerpt of the interview here and read Souli’s full essay here.
This week, our editors recommend stories about:
- High school gun violence.
- A dark, frenzied time in Silicon Valley history.
- The problem of AI poetry.
- An all-consuming hobby.
- The Christmas tree mafia.
Our Best of Investigative Reporting list examines sexual violence, drug addiction, and government policy that destroys families, among other topics. It’s dark stuff, but in the hands of these writers, the stories sing.
Our Best of 2022: Reported Essays list truly demonstrates the craft of the form: immersing yourself in a new world and finding other people’s voices and expert knowledge to help tell a story. Enjoy reading this eclectic range of pieces that report from around the world.
This month, our sister publication @atavist is featuring a remarkable piece of journalism by Sarah Souli investigating the harrowing story of three murdered migrant women on the Greek-Turkish border. Read an excerpt here.
“Bodies turn up along the Evros River with morbid regularity. The thin, shallow waterway divides Greece and Turkey for some 120 miles—the countries’ only shared land border—before dumping into the Aegean Sea. The area around Papachatzidis’s farm is a popular gateway for people desperate to enter Europe in search of freedom, safety, and dignity. But while traversing the river is less treacherous than a boat passage across the Mediterranean, it is by no means safe. Between 2018 and 2022, more than 200 migrants and refugees died trying to cross the Evros. Hypothermia and drowning are the most common causes of death. The strong current is challenging even for capable swimmers, and natural debris such as tree branches can snag on clothing and drag people—often children—to the river’s muddy bed. Across the Evros, other dangers await. Smugglers load people into vans bound for Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, with drivers who are often scared and inexperienced, resulting in horrific car crashes along the highway.
Murder, though, is a different matter. It is all but unheard of in Evros, the Greek region that takes its name from the river. For locals, the crime on Papachatzidis’s land was the most brutal act in recent memory.”
This week, our editors recommend stories about:
- How the opioid crisis took eight friends’ lives.
- The longest siege in modern history.
- The football player who walked away from the NFL.
- The scholar who helped an art smuggling operation flourish.
- The Not-So-Great Canadian Baking Show