At this point, it would be a charade to consider this a travel blog. Instead of walking you through the five different types of kimbap I ate this week (which I am most certainly doing next week!), I'd rather share the things I enjoy reading. The internet houses a million and one articles to read, most of which are written by angsty college students like myself to show what great writers they are. Not so, with the list before you!
Long-form
journalism is, in my opinion, an underappreciated form of writing. For the uninitiated, long-form writing is generally exceeds 1,000 words but wouldn't fill a full novel. Journalists spend months or years working on single stories, crafting countless hours of research into a commute's read. While not as instantly shareable as headline articles or as thorough as complete books, they provide a
digestible medium for the world’s most fascinating topics. Your favorite
documentary or “based on a true story” movie probably has a long-form writer to
thank for originally reporting the story. Organizations like The New Yorker or
Atavist are treasure-troves of engrossing and informative writing that deserve more attention. In
case you are dubious of my claims, I’ve compiled a list of some of journalism's best pieces from a variety of sources. It’s a mix of exposés, tragic tales, and
unbelievable people. My hope is that you’ll find something that piques your
interest and dive right in. If you don’t see anything you like or are
interested in more, I’d highly recommend checking out sites like Longform.org
or Longreads.com for massive collections of stories sort-able by genre. Check 'em out and let me know what you think, links are below the titles.
The Interpreter by John Colapinto
Unequivocally,
The Interpreter is the most
thought-provoking piece of journalism I’ve ever read. It follows the life and
work of linguist Dan Everett as he combats long-standing beliefs about language. The article primarily focuses on the Pirahã, a
remote Amazonian tribe that, among other things, does not use numbers, colors,
or the past tense in their language. To them, people and things simply leave existence when not visible, like a toddler without object permanence. The Pirahã have proven to be a contentious point of discussion between academic linguists who are mystified by facets of the Amazonian people's language. By the end, John Colapinto has you doubting the idea of the color blue while simultaneously reinforcing a certain level of universal humanity.
Everett himself, having lived with the Pirahã
for over 25 years, becomes a central character in the story. Originally being sent to the Amazon as a missionary, he begins to question the structures
of academia, the concept of perception, and even his own faith. Everett fights his whole life against established institutions, cutting through the B.S. with logic and an unwavering commitment to truth. He's the academic we all want to be: a modern India Jones without the rolling boulders or cannibals. I’d recommend The
Interpreter to anyone and everyone, if for no other reason than as a
conversation piece – I know I talk about the Pirahã at every chance I get.
Sunk by Mitch Moxley
This
multi-media article describes the harrowing production of a 140-million-dollar
Chinese blockbuster that never was. Driven by the insanity of a Chinese
real-estate billionaire, Empires of the Deep was supposed to be China’s first
foray into the Hollywood-style epic, complete with ambitious underwater battle
scenes and top of the line CGI. Instead, the 10-year production (it still
hasn’t been released) was plagued with financial problems, a revolving door of
writers and directors, and constant cultural clashes between the Chinese crew
and Western actors. The saga even includes a daring escape by the film’s lead
actress, fleeing from set by sneaking out her window and wading across a river.
As someone living in Asia, I couldn’t help but relate with many of the people
who worked on Empires. My favorite part of the story involves the director joking telling the crew to build a wall to cover up some unsightly hotels, only to arrive on set the next to a massive partition. More than anything, Sunk displays the cultural and communicative differences that continue to seperate East and West. Even without the cultural overtones, though, Sunk is still an excellent and hilarious dive (pun
intended) into how not to make a movie. Check it out if you want a few laughs and/or cringes.
Inside the Hunt for the
World’s Most Notorious Hacker
by Garrett M. Graff
Evgeniy
Bogachev, AKA Slavik in the cyber community, was a hacker of unprecedented
power that, up until his capture, enjoyed complete anonymity. Inside the Hunt tracks the
continent-crossing investigation into Slavik’s widespread network of hackers.
The read often feels like a cat and mouse Hollywood flick, with the world’s
best cyber-specialists battling it out on both sides of the law. FBI forces
spend months planning advanced sting operations on Slavik’s system of “zombie”
computers, only to be thwarted time and time again by layers of unexpected
defenses. The hacker was, in fact, the founder of the industry leading encryption software, making him and extraordinarily cunning target. Eventually a specialized team is formed to uncover Slavik's secrets end his reign of terror. Although the article is highly technical, the story behind the chase
is more than enough reason to pick this one up, and as a bonus for anyone curious
about the recent global cyber-security attack, it also explains in detail how
ransomware attacks operate.
Confessions of an Ivy League
Frat Boy: Inside Dartmouth’s Hazing Abuses
by Janet
Reitman
Long-form
writing isn’t always as glamorous as a grand hunt for a world-renowned hacker.
No, sometimes writers like Janet Reitman tackle issues a lot closer to home. Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy is
not a fun read. It chronicles the woes of fraternity life through the eyes of a
participatory student. Andrew Lohse was a fairly typical frat-boy at Dartmouth,
one of the most prestigious and selective universities in the U.S. Dartmouth is
known for two things: producing captains of industry and facilitating an extensive
Greek life. The article states that half of all students at the New Jersey
university are in fraternities and sororities.
At Dartmouth, Lohse is dragged
through a nearly diabolical initiation into one of the school’s fraternities.
The “pledges” are forced to drink inordinate amounts of alcohol, preform menial
tasks for the “brothers”, and, at one point, are told to swim in a pool of
human feces and vomit. Lohse, after being kicked-out of the fraternity, takes
it upon himself to expose the system for what it is: a breeding ground for
intolerant alcoholics that will one day run the country. However, not all is
what it seems. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that Lohse is not
quite the good-guy he portrays himself. Confessions
is a disgusting and revealing read about modern American higher education,
check it out.
Scaling the World’s Most
Lethal Mountain in the Dead of Winter by
Michael Powell
In Scaling the World’s Most Lethal Mountain,
we get to step into the world of competitive high-altitude climbing, and if
there’s one thing I gleaned from Michael Powell’s story, it’s that Poles are
crazy, crazy people. Prepping for the first ever winter climb of K2, the world’s
second tallest and most dangerous mountain, Polish expert climber Krzysztof
Wielicki is establishing his crack team of professionals. On average, someone
dies during every climb of K2, and no one has ever made a summit during winter
months. The feat remains the last true challenge in the world of extreme
climbing. The article goes beyond just the singular climb, though, by examining
the greater culture of climbing in Poland. Poles have been at the forefront of
the climbing community since its inception with no real reason beyond extraordinary commitment. In fact, many of the climbers in the story are normal people, bakers and mechanics. What drives them is nothing more than an intense love of climbing and the never-ending fear of death.
The Friend: Love is Not a Big
Enough Word
by Matthew Teague
"Before this is over," she said, "you will
long for it to end.
Never, I said.
The Friend: Love is Not a Big Enough Word is about a man watching his wife die and the friend who came to his side during the worst of it. I don't know what to say beyond: this is a hard read. This isn't The Fault in our Stars kind of sickness; this is real, slow, painful, disgusting death. Matthew Teague
recounts the hardest events of his life with the clarity and honesty of a confessional. His reactions to his wife's deterioration are at times harsh, but by the end of the read, you've got nothing but sympathy for him, his kids, and Dane, the Friend.
Long-form writing is all about telling stories. Most of the time, they are exciting investigations or wacky adventures. Matthew Teague's story is anything but that; it's excruciating. There's no agenda in his writing and maybe even no lesson to be learned besides one of friendship. However, it should be read. It's more truly human than anything than you've watched or read in years.
The Mastermind by Evan Ratliff
Alright,
buckle in for this one; it’s a seven-part, multi-media article of novel length.
The Mastermind follows a variety of
stories, from the murder of a Filipino real-estate agent to the foundation of
the gold-standard encryption tool, to tell the saga of Paul Le Roux, the most
powerful criminal kingpin you’ve never heard of. I don’t want to spoil too much
of this one; the intrigue lies in the unbelievable twists and turns and
unforgettable characters. The article (not even if can still be called that) is
more akin to a podcast like Serial than a traditional piece of journalism. Evan
Ratliff talks through the events of his research even as he receives new
information, resulting in an on-the-fly feel that leaves you hungry for more.
The Mastermind is everything investigative journalism should be. It's a story of massive size and scope, obviously the result of thousands of hours of investigation, boiled down into bite sized chunks of excellent writing. If you have a few hours to kill or just want to read some damn-fine reporting,
Atavist’sThe Mastermind is perfect for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment