In search of (more) interesting articles

[MsZem]

I would totally read this if I knew Yiddish:

The Inside Story of How 'Harry Potter' Was Translated Into Yiddish

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series is one of the most translated works of fiction in human history. Over the last two decades, it has appeared in over 80 languages, ranging from well-trodden tongues like French and German to more exotic idioms like Gaelic and Latin. Today, that collection...

www.tabletmag.com

 

[clairecloutier]

This is a paper from the Harvard Graduate School of Education about the issue of racial and socioeconomic integration (or lack thereof) in American schools:

Do Parents Really Want School Integration?

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b7c56e255b02c683659fe43/t/5e30a6280107be3cf98d15e6/1580246577656/Do+Parents+Really+Want+School+Integration+2020+FINAL.pdf

It is an academic paper and slightly repetitive in spots, but I found it pretty interesting.

 

[MacMadame]

I don't know about other parents but I specifically chose a neighborhood in my town that was both ethnically and economically diverse so my kids would grow up understanding their own privilege and be exposed to other ways of thinking about the world.

 

[clairecloutier]

I don't know about other parents but I specifically chose a neighborhood in my town that was both ethnically and economically diverse so my kids would grow up understanding their own privilege and be exposed to other ways of thinking about the world.

I think that's great! We live in a diverse small city, and at times we have contemplated moving in order to get into a "better" school district (ours has its issues), but around here all the "good" districts are the 80%+ white districts (funny how that happens), and I'm not all that thrilled at that prospect.

I originally saw this article on Facebook, where it was posted by an old high school classmate of mine. She and her husband are white, but their daughter is black (adopted). They recently made the decision to remove her from their local elementary school because there wasn't enough diversity. They have placed her in a school with more diversity, which seems to be working well so far.

 

[MacMadame]

It's hard when you are a parent because of course, you want to honor your principles. But you also have to think about what is good for your own child. I ended up pulling both my kids out of public school when they were having problems. One of them ended up going back (with mixed results).

But it wasn't a case of wanting to go to some "better" school with better test scores and tons of STEM. They went to a small alternative school that wasn't even accredited. Unfortunately, it was also less diverse, probably because parents of color know their kids need the absolutely best credentials possible if they want to get into a good college.

 

[Buzz]

The ultimate turning lemons into lemonade story.

An 'unhappy marriage' that has saved thousands of lives

Uma cared for her ailing husband until he died. Now she's helping other Indians get medical treatment.

www.bbc.com

 

[Buzz]

Black Families Came to Chicago by the Thousands. Why Are They Leaving? (Published 2020)

There is an exodus of African-Americans from Chicago. Hardis White, 78, is one of those who left, and three generations of his family wrestled with staying or going.

www.nytimes.com

 

[MsZem]

We have another moon! But sadly it's very small as well as temporary:

Earth Has Had a Secret Second Moon for Months Now

Don’t get too attached, though. It’s not sticking around.

www.theatlantic.com

And again from The Atlantic, on a completely different note:

Feminism’s Purity Wars

Why has Erin Pizzey, once a pioneer of the women’s movement, been written out of its history?

www.theatlantic.com

What happened on the Conception, where a fire killed 34 people a few months ago:

Inside the Fatal Boat Fire That Devastated the Diving Community

On Labor Day weekend 2019, the 'Conception' left Santa Barbara, California, for a diving trip to the Channel Islands. Six months later, authorities are still trying to determine how what should have been a routine excursion became one of the deadliest maritime disasters in U.S. history.

www.outsideonline.com

 

[MacMadame]

This really moved me:

The Diet Industrial Complex Got Me, and It Will Never Let Me Go (Published 2020)

I did not see the body positivity movement coming, not at all.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Prancer]

I thought this was an interesting (and rather topical) interview. When I teach lit, I talk quite a bit about the influence of the black plague and tuberculosis on the literature of the time; students are always really taken aback by the beauty of TB thing, among other things.

How Pandemics Change History

The historian Frank M. Snowden discusses the politics of restricting travel during epidemics, how inhumane responses to sickness have upended governments, and how artists have reacted to disease outbreaks.

www.newyorker.com

 

[MsZem]

I think we can all use some interesting non-CV articles, so here are a few:

Ed Yong on giraffes:

The Last Giraffes on Earth

The planet’s tallest animal is in far greater danger than people might think.

www.theatlantic.com

Dan Barry on the last reporter for a small-town newspaper:

The Last Reporter in Town Had One Big Question for His Rich Boss (Published 2020)

His newspaper has withered under a hedge fund. His industry was in turmoil even before a pandemic. But Evan Brandt won’t stop chronicling his town.

www.nytimes.com

Andrew Bernstein writes to the driver who hit him and ran:

To the Driver Who Hit Me and Ran

I was biking home when you barreled into me with your car and left me to die

www.outsideonline.com

 

[gkelly]

The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy

The gilded future of the top 10 percent—and the end of opportunity for everyone else

www.theatlantic.com

The 9.9 Percent Is the New American Aristocracy
The class divide is already toxic, and is fast becoming unbridgeable. You’re probably part of the problem.

 

[MsZem]

This is indeed an interesting article and worth reading until the end.

Gene Weingarten: A neighbor asked for a tomato. This is where the story gets weird.

 

[MacMadame]

This one fascinated me:

The True Story of the Married Woman Who Smuggled Her Boyfriend Out of Prison in a Dog Crate

She wanted to escape her marriage. He wanted to escape his life sentence.

www.theatlantic.com

And would you believe there is a whole article about the "fake baby" phenomena?

How a Fake Baby Is Born

For years, women on the internet have been writing conspiracy theories about celebrity pregnancies. What sparks them?

www.theatlantic.com

 

[Buzz]

Scientists Discover Unmarked Coffins During Search For 1921 Tulsa Massacre Victims

Tulsa officials said at least 12 coffins were discovered over four days of digging in the city-owned Oaklawn Cemetery. More tests need to be conducted to determine if remains are massacre victims.

www.npr.org

 

[MsZem]

I spent a long time recently reading this from Tablet Magazine (I did know who Pechersky was, but not much beyond that). Very interesting:

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/sasha-pechersky-sobibor-russian-jews-david-bezmozgis

On a much happier note:

There are so many articles for which I'd love to see a followup. Maybe none more so than Patrick Kingsley's A Refugee's Journey (even with a part 2).

I don't know if anyone other than me read A Refugee's Journey way back when, but Patrick Kingsley recently tweeted that Hashem and his family are all doing well in Sweden, where they were reunited in 2017 not every refugee story has a happy outcome, and I'm so glad that this one does.

 

[mjb52]

This article has its own thread elsewhere but seems to belong here too: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazin...se-niche-sports-ivy-league-admissions/616474/ - I've had it open in a tab for awhile but just now got around to reading it. It's a great article but it seemed so weird to me that the author didn't talk to any of the actual kids. It was long and my memory is fading but I don't recall seeing even a single quote from any of the athletes themselves. I just checked again and don't really see anything. The article has a pretty clear underlying message that this whole sporting subculture is really unhealthy for the kids but doesn't allow them to speak for themselves. Just seems strange to me.

Also, in searching for it to find the link again after prematurely closing the tab, I found a 16 post thread on how Tiffany Stiegler had finally found her niche in ice dancing and she and her partner might be a threat to Belbin & Agosto (also a very flash-in-the-pan rumor about her partnering with Tschernshyev?). Well hindsight is 20/20!

 

[Buzz]

Water on the Moon could sustain a lunar base

The "unambiguous detection of water" will boost Nasa's hopes of establishing a lunar base.

www.bbc.com

 

[MsZem]

This would explain a lot. Including maybe some skating results.

Do We Live in a Simulation? Chances Are about 50–50

Gauging whether or not we dwell inside someone else’s computer may come down to advanced AI research—or measurements at the frontiers of cosmology

www.scientificamerican.com

 

[MacMadame]

Interesting article about Down syndrome and genetic testing:

The Last Children of Down Syndrome

Prenatal testing is changing who gets born and who doesn’t. This is just the beginning.

www.theatlantic.com

 

[clairecloutier]

For those interested in the history/Stalinist prison camps of far eastern Russia, here's an essay from the NYT about what it's like to visit the region today, and how it is changing:

Along Russia’s ‘Road of Bones,’ Relics of Suffering and Despair (Published 2020)

The Kolyma Highway in the Russian Far East once delivered tens of thousands of prisoners to the work camps of Stalin’s gulag. The ruins of that cruel era are still visible today.

www.nytimes.com

Amazing photographs in this piece.

 

[clairecloutier]

So a couple months ago, the Washington Post published a really interesting series about how systemic racism affected George Floyd’s life. I had posted about in the Progressive thread (https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/the-progressive-thread.98646/page-37#post-5887316).

Now here’s an interview with Robert Samuels, who wrote an article in the series about George Floyd and the U.S. health care system. He talks about how he researched the article and tried to persuade people in Floyd’s life to talk with him for the story. It’s quite interesting and shows how much work goes into journalism like this!

A profile of police victim George Floyd also explored the health toll of racism | Nieman Storyboard

A Washington Post series dug past reactions to George Floyd's death to probe questions about his life and what it reveals about society.

niemanstoryboard.org

Some here will remember that Robert is also a figure skating fan and has written some stories about skating.

 

[Buzz]

In 1987 a young man’s simple but brave deed in the name of democracy may have cost him his life, but he helped to bring down a military dictatorship.

Noor Hossain and the image that helped bring down a dictator

A search for the story behind a picture of Noor Hossain, whose killing helped inspire an uprising.

www.bbc.com

 

[mjb52]

Incredibly sad article about a football (UK version) crowd tragedy: https://www.theguardian.com/news/20...gotten-tragedy-ibrox-stadium-disaster-glasgow - I know about Hillsborough but was totally unfamiliar with this.

 

[MsZem]

Incredibly sad article about a football (UK version) crowd tragedy: https://www.theguardian.com/news/20...gotten-tragedy-ibrox-stadium-disaster-glasgow - I know about Hillsborough but was totally unfamiliar with this.

Likewise. What a horrible, sad story - and what a failure when it comes to learning from the "rehearsal". I can't imagine going through two of these things like the author did, or seeing Heysel and Hillsborough as a survivor of a similar disaster.

 

[gkelly]

Not deep journalism, but pop science that's fun to read:
The Strangest, Most Amazing Lactation Methods Ever Seen in Mammals

I followed some of the links. Bats Are the Most Fascinating, Bizarre, Generous, Sexy Beasts by the same author was also a fun read.

 

[MsZem]

This is so sad. It's failure on multiple, systemic levels.

How Kidney Failure Is the Perfect Storm of a Racist Health Care System

JaMarcus Crews fought for years to get a new kidney. “Dialysis is not for life,” he said. When the coronavirus came, the dialysis center was the last place he wanted to be.

bit.ly

 

[allezfred]

Revenge of the secretaries: The protest movement that inspired the film 9 to 5 - BBC News

The 1980 hit comedy 9 to 5 was inspired by a real protest movement, which is profiled in a new documentary.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[clairecloutier]

This is so sad. It's failure on multiple, systemic levels.

How Kidney Failure Is the Perfect Storm of a Racist Health Care System

JaMarcus Crews fought for years to get a new kidney. “Dialysis is not for life,” he said. When the coronavirus came, the dialysis center was the last place he wanted to be.

bit.ly

Devastating story that exposes so many problems in our healthcare system. More great work from ProPublica, which also published an important story about high amputation rates among African-Americans with diabetes earlier this year.

I was also interested to read this because one of my husband's sisters has kidney failure, and we know very little about her long-term prognosis and options within the healthcare system. I'm going to ask my husband if he thinks it might be useful to share this article with her.

And, for those interested, here is another story about Russia, in this case, how climate change may affect the development of Siberia:

How Russia Wins the Climate Crisis (Published 2020)

Climate change is propelling enormous human migrations, transforming global agriculture and remaking the world order — and no country stands to gain more than Russia.

www.nytimes.com

 

[MsZem]

Devastating story that exposes so many problems in our healthcare system. More great work from ProPublica, which also published an important story about high amputation rates among African-Americans with diabetes earlier this year.

Both articles were written by Lizzie Presser - clearly a journalist to keep an eye on.