The FADER Weekend Reading List
All about kompromat, a pillow king’s success story, and the rise of encrypted messaging apps.
Illustration by Leah Mandel
How State-Sponsored Blackmail Works In Russia
Julia Ioffe, The Atlantic
Kompromat is the Russian word for “compromising material,” and it's often used in conjunction with "black PR," which is a combination leaking into the U.S. For example, Ioffe explained, "using Wikileaks and Kremlin-owned news sites to pound Hillary Clinton using the hacked contents of the DNC servers or John Podesta’s emails." Yay!
The Preposterous Success Story of America’s Pillow King
Josh Dean, Bloomberg
"As so many great entrepreneurial success stories do, the tale of Mike Lindell begins in a crack house," wrote Dean about the man who founded MyPillow after literally dreaming up the concept. Lindlell's rise from severe addiction to entrepreneurial gold is quite a tale.
Group Therapy With The xx
Ruth Saxelby, The FADER
In three conversations across three continents, Saxelby spoke with The xx about how their relationships with their work and each other have changed — it came together as one giant meditation on the evolution of friendship and creative output.
The Concussion Diaries: One High School Football Player’s Secret Struggle with CTE
Reid Forgrave, GQ
Football can cause brain damage, that's a fact. Zac Easter, who played football through high school, felt his brain going haywire in a very real way, and he knew why. So he wrote it all down in his suicide note.
Signal Boost
Lauren Smiley, The Verge
The incoming U.S. president will oversee the NSA, and he's already stated that he condones massive data collection. So, people are ever more turning to encrypted messaging services, like Signal, as a preventative measure. Read all about it.
This Is The Woman Responsible For 300 Of Lil Wayne’s Tattoos
Blaire Monroe, The FADER
Please read this wild interview with Lil Wayne's go-to tattooer. She inked up his entire lower body. You will learn some new things.
Abortion’s Deadly DIY Past Could Soon Become Its Future
Rebecca Traister, New York
The idea of a United States that forces women to seek life-threatening procedures disgusts me. Traister's in-depth piece on the possible return to back alley abortions is terrifying.
How Albert Woodfox Survived Solitary
Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker
Albert Woodfox is one of three Black Panthers who became known as the Angola 3. Combined, the three of them were in solitary confinement for over 100 years. Last year, Woodfox was released after serving the longest sentence in solitary in U.S. history. This is his story, and what his life looks like now.