Illustration by Leah Mandel; Susan Schiff Faludi / Stringer
Their Tube
Jessica Contrera, Washington Post
Kids these days! They're growing up with YouTube instead of television, and according to Contrera, they "have little interest in the well-groomed child actors that past generations saw on TV. They want to watch each other." So what does it mean for childhood when voyeurism has become the norm? Or, as Contrera asked, "is it any wonder that the children who watch these videos begin to act as if their entire lives are being recorded, too?"
The Soccer-Star Refugees Of Eritrea
Alexis Okeowo, The New Yorker
As many as 5,000 Eritreans defect every year. Members of Eritrea's national soccer team kept defecting from their country after playing games abroad, so in 2015, the government disbanded the team. And now there's a new Eritrean soccer team, made up of "mostly of Eritrean athletes who lived abroad and held dual nationality, and therefore had no incentive to defect," wrote Okeowo.
A Story About Discovery
Rachel Monroe, The Outline
Brand new culture publication The Outline launched on Monday. With it came a slew of stories, including this incredible piece on a trans person's decision to "detransition."
Also from The Outline this week: Leah Finnegan's Trevor Noah Isn't The Real News Either and Jeff Weiss's Trump's America Is A Rerun.
The Pessimist’s Guide to 2017
Bloomberg
Last year Bloomberg published the Pessimist's Guide to 2016, predicting what would happen if Donald Trump became president. And it did happen. Now we get to have a new guide to the worst things that could happen next year, from trade wars with China to chaos in the Middle East.
Van Jones Knows What We Need To Do Next
Mark Anthony Green, GQ
This interview with Van Jones, the man who seemed to be the only one calling out America's racism on election night, is necessary. Green asked right off the bat, "Are we fucked? Are we going to be okay, Van Jones?" Jones answers with honesty and trepidation.
Out Of Prison, Uncovered
The Marshall Project
It goes without saying that we should be expanding Medicare and not defunding it, but you should be pissed about its impending demise. Case in point: all the uninsured ex-prisoners profiled in this piece who need medication — some of whom may return to prison without it.
Divine Power
Deidre Dyer and Leah Mandel, The FADER
Meet Princess Nokia, Chynna Rogers, Tamara Santibañez, Rachel Howe, and Arpana Rayamajhi — five women who opened their hearts and told us how they use religion to navigate their modern lives. (Full disclosure: I worked on this piece.)
Intake
Rosalind Adams, BuzzFeed
The alternate title of this story is "What The Fuck Just Happened?" and it's about how the world's largest psychiatric chain, Universal Health Services, essentially has the mental healthcare system rigged in their favor. "Scores of employees from at least a dozen hospitals said those facilities tried to keep beds filled even at the expense of the safety of their staff or the rights of the patients they were locking up," wrote Adams. Only on this ridiculous planet.