What If Friendship, Not Marriage, Was at the Center of Life?
The Atlantic · 20 minMany of those who place a friendship at the center of their life find that their most significant relationship is incomprehensible to others.
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Inside Foxconn’s Empty Buildings, Empty Factories, and Empty Promises in Wisconsin
The Verge · 42 minIn exchange for billions in tax subsidies, Foxconn was supposed to build an enormous LCD factory in the tiny village of Mount Pleasant, creating 13,000 jobs. Three years later, the factory — and the jobs — don’t exist, and they probably never will.
The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion
GQ · 41 minHe was a senior CIA official tasked with getting tough on Russia. Then, one night in Moscow, Marc Polymeropoulos's life changed forever.
COVID Has Caused Millions to Lose their Sense of Smell—One Writer’s Journey to a Scentless Life and Back
Vogue · 14 minMost people fail to recognize how integral smell is to our experience of pleasure, our emotional lives, and even, on a fundamental level, our identity.
'Rebecca' at Eighty: The Women Behind the Hitchcock Classic
crimereads.com · 1 minIn 1938, Joan Harrison read a galley of Daphne Du Maurier's masterpiece. She wouldn't rest until she had the rights to adapt it.
Fascinating stories
Fast-Growing Mini-Forests Spring up in Europe to Aid Climate
The Guardian · 3 minMiyawaki forests are denser and said to be more biodiverse than other kinds of woods.
Economists on the Run
Foreign Policy · 13 minPaul Krugman and other mainstream trade experts are now admitting that they were wrong about globalization: It hurt American workers far more than they thought it would.
Moves to Make Now To Age in Place
Kiplinger · 14 minWhile it can be less expensive to remain in your home than to pay for assisted living, it comes with a long to-do list.
The Nightmare Scenario for Florida’s Coastal Homeowners
Bloomberg · 8 minDemand and financing could collapse before the sea consumes a single house.
How To Make Pita Bread at Home
The Kitchn · 6 minPita is actually a very straightforward bread dough and can be made either in the oven or on the stovetop.
The Real Divide in America Is Between Political Junkies and Everyone Else
The New York Times · 4 minMost Americans view politics as two camps bickering endlessly and fruitlessly over unimportant issues.
9 Secret Shortcuts of People Who Are Good at Everyday Math
Apartment Therapy · 3 minHow to calculate a tip, convert temperature quickly, and more.
When ‘The Day After’ Terrorized 100 Million Viewers With a Vision of Nuclear War
Mental Floss · 5 minThe televised film that was made as a public service announcement horrified those who saw it.
The Sun Is Stranger Than Astrophysicists Imagined
Quanta Magazine · 8 minThe sun radiates far more high-frequency light than expected, raising questions about unknown features of the sun’s magnetic field and the possibility of even more exotic physics.
The company that has a monopoly on ice cream truck music
thehustle.co · 8 minHow a small, family-owned electronics company came to control 97% of the ice cream truck music market.
‘I Barely Breathed’: Tilda Swinton, Emma Thompson and More Share Memorable Moments at the Movies
The Guardian · 16 minFrom transformative nights in the grubbiest of fleapits to spellbinding screenings under the stars, film-makers and critics recall the communal thrill of going to the cinema.
15 recent sci-fi books that forever shaped the genre
Polygon · 16 minThe last 15 years have provided plenty of fodder for science fiction authors, and looking back, it’s clear that science fiction is in a period of transition.
The Donkey Farmer’s Magical Matchmaking Book
Narratively · 10 minIn the era of online dating, one septuagenarian Irishman clings tight to a method passed down through the generations—and thousands of happy couples are luckier for it.
How to make this winter not totally suck, according to psychologists
Vox · 8 minThis one idea may help you conquer the dread of pandemic winter.
How Pre-Prohibition Drinking Laws Led New Yorkers to Create the World’s Worst Sandwich
Atlas Obscura · 6 minIt was everywhere at the turn of the 20th century. It was also inedible.