1.
“Sixteen Days in Ukraine,” March 14–27
New York’s latest issue told the story of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine through the eyes of 30 young people living through the war. Author Edwin Hayward called the oral history “an incredible read. A vivid reminder that the people caught up in the invasion of Ukraine had lives that were just like everyone else’s — and then they didn’t.” This American Life’s Ben Calhoun found the package “devastating and illuminating, and unique within the coverage of the war. My thoughts are with those who shared their stories here, and my admiration to those who elevated their voices with this.” Sbunker co-founder Agon Maliqi had “been reading this stream of captivating testimonials for almost an hour and … damn! You’ll be hard pressed to find any other genre of writing that can so powerfully portray the ways in which war upends lives.” Morgan Pomaika’i Lee of Christianity Today tweeted, “The specificity of this pain will wreck you,” and Proofpoint’s Sherrod DeGrippo wrote, “Moving. Infuriating. Horrible. Inspiring. Delicate. Tender. Funny. Sad. Hopeful. Sweet. Young. Absolutely incredible piece.” On his MSNBC broadcast, Chris Hayes praised the story, noting: “I got a vision of what this has meant in a daily way almost unlike anything I’ve read.” Speaking to The Fine Print, Yaroslav Druziuk, the deputy editor-in-chief of The Village Ukraine who contributed reporting to the project, said, “Here in Ukraine we are prepared for this Ukrainian war fatigue that eventually comes when global media are covering wars and conflicts. The hope is you guys will continue to cover these stories, because it’s really important in the face of Russia’s aggression and the ongoing struggle here.
2.
“Still Yawning at the Apocalypse” (March 14–27)
David Wallace-Wells wrote about the pervasive blend of complacency and fatalism that has met the U.N.’s latest climate report. Biologist Colin J. Carlson said the column “nails part of the problem with the new #ipcc report: people have heard the real-time impact assessments before as projections, and don’t necessarily know when/which things moved from one compartment into the next,” while Washington State University’s Steve Austin tweeted, “This is indeed what is happening. Amazingly, most in the US have gone rapidly from ‘it’s not real’ to ‘ok, we’ll deal with it.’ Can we?” Mark Brownstein of the Environmental Defense Fund’s energy program wrote, “The climate crisis is no less serious or immediate than the geopolitical crisis facing us today.” And Variety’s Michael Schneider said, “All the stuff we talk about. All the stuff we fight about. Nothing will matter if we can’t live on this planet anymore. The world is on fire.” Don’t Look Up co-writer David Sirota added, “It’s as if an asteroid is headed toward Earth but there’s a media and political system designed to make us not care.”
3.
“Another Life,” March 14–27
Bilge Ebiri profiled the former child star Ke Huy Quan on the cusp of his return to the screen in Everything Everywhere All at Once. Film critic Scott Weinberg found it “so cool to see the acting resurrection of Ke Huy Quan, whom everyone remembers from Temple of Doom and The Goonies!!,” and @MindaMZ “was already excited to see Michelle Yeoh in this, a movie about a middle aged woman kicking ass (more please), but Ke Hey Quan, too? Take. My. Money.” Howard Ho wrote, “When I was a kid, only one actor in the movies looked like me. I used to recite his dialogue into the mirror, imagining myself as Short Round from Indy2. Seeing him make his big screen return is like a piece of me being restored.” Director Justin Decloux noted, “This article … is great, but it does skip over the fact that he starred in a Taiwanese action film called Red Pirate (1997) directed by Jackie Chan’s mentor.” Many readers seemed delighted to learn that Jeff Cohen, who played Chunk in The Goonies, is still close with Quan. @katychristy said, “I was a massive Goonies fan as a kid (and still could probably recite it line for line) and it just makes me so happy that 1. the actor that played Data is returning to his acting career and 2. his lawyer is the actor who played Chunk.” Writer Danielle Sepulveres added, “Finding out that Data and Chunk are still friends made my heart grow three sizes. I love this profile.”
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