As content creators, we’re constantly on the hunt for interesting and inspiring stories from wherever we can find them—the internet, a podcast, television. This enables us not only to keep up with but to lead relevant conversations on the people, events, and discoveries that are impacting our world.
Here’s what we’ve been devouring lately.
Jennifer, Content Director
Reading: Thank You For Being Late by Thomas L. Friedman. The author of From Beirut to Jerusalem explains why humankind’s legendary ability to adapt is now being outpaced by three “supernova” forces: technology, the market, and climate change.
Watching: NCIS: Los Angeles—just a dose of escapism. I occasionally fantasize about being Hetty Lange when I grow up.
Listening to: “Simon: Easy to See Why Some Loved Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Many More Fled“—an NPR piece on a reporter’s ambivalence during his trips to Cuba.
Following: All the new Joe Biden memes. Which are a scream.
Ros, Web Content Specialist
Reading: The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers by Thomas Fleming, which talks about the relationships several of our country’s original leading politicians had with the women in their lives, from their mothers to their wives.
Watching: The Galapagos Affair, a bizarre documentary about a group of men and women who moved to the Galapagos in the early 20th century to escape the hustle and bustle of early 20th century Europe, only for things to take a tragic turn when a mysterious woman arrived with two men (rumored to be her lovers) in tow.
Listening to: Justin Timberlake (*heart emoji*)
Following: Pretty much every BuzzFeed story about cats
Sammi, Web Content Specialist
Reading: About the electoral college. I’ve always known the basics, but I’m learning more about its creation and its purpose.
Watching: The Amanda Knox documentary on Netflix. Totally not guilty.
Listening to: “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays” by NSYNC. Best. Christmas. Song. Ever.
Following: The Epilepsy Foundation. November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and I am so grateful for everything the Foundation has done.
Nicole, Multimedia Content Designer
Reading: “Vitamin D Linked to Longer Breast Cancer Survival.” A close family member of mine just underwent a double mastectomy to combat early-stage breast cancer, so this piece in The New York Times—based on research published in The Journal of the American Medical Association—hits close to home.
Watching: How Fidel Castro Went From Revolutionary to Ruler. One of the most polarizing political figures in history has passed away, and his legacy is now being questioned by many Cubans, Cuban Americans, and world leaders. This TIME Magazine video illustrates his rebel beginnings and political turns throughout his decades-long reign.
Listening to: Trinity Health’s Gilfillan optimistic about progress for healthcare. This podcast Q&A on Modern Healthcare talks to Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health CEO Dr. Richard Gilfillan on the prospects for healthcare system reform should the Affordable Care Act be repealed.
Following: Aaron Walter on Twitter. This guy is VP of Design Education at InVision, an innovative design prototyping company, and he actually started UX practice at MailChimp. Pretty cool stuff.
Katie, Engagement and Analytics
Reading: The Hundred-Year House by Rebecca Makkai, which is a pick from my book club that highlights exactly why I love book clubs. They expose you to books you may not have known about otherwise—in this case, the story of a haunted family and a haunted house, written by a local Chicago writer.
Watching: Black Mirror, a tech/sci-fi/thriller series that Netflix recently picked up. Each vignette is incredibly well written and acted—and all too possible.
Listening to: CBC’s podcast Missing & Murdered: Who Killed Alberta Williams? This series zooms in on the murder of an indigenous woman, Alberta Williams, in northern Canada. However, the coverage also touches on the disturbingly high number of missing and murdered indigenous women throughout the country.
Following: @LindaBlackElk on Twitter. Linda is an ethnobotanist on the front lines at the anti-pipeline camps at Standing Rock. She also runs the Medic and Healer Council at the camps.
