The Banana As We Know It Is Dying…Again

Nathaniel Scharping Discover Magazine
At the heart of the conflict is the sturdy little fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense; it infects and kills banana plants and, since the banana industry relies so heavily on one species, it is spreading steadily across banana-rich Southeast Asia and into Australia and the Middle East.

The Great Urban Indian Poem

Kim Shuck Sidewalk NDN
Kim Shuck, current poet laureate of San Francisco, explores the complications-- mixed-up heritages, commercial indifference—of seeing the “Great Urban Indian Poem published “because culture is at its/Root not something that can be sold by chain stores.”

17 Things We Learned About Money in Politics in 2017

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy Brennan Center for Justice
What did we learn about money in politics during the Earth’s ride around the Sun this year? The Trump Russia investigation could turn on campaign finance law.

The Post | Movie

The unlikely partnership between The Washington Post’s Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of US involvement in Vietnam that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents.