Top 5: Lies, love & redemption

+ foster care and books in prison

Don’t miss out on the holiday sale! A great gift for yourself or a loved one:

The Top 5 articles for your week:

1. “Loving Lies” (Air Mail)

   Because this is a wonderful essay about journalist Stephen Glass finding absolution through a new personal policy of honesty, and then breaking his own rules because of love.

2. “How Child Care Became the Most Broken Business in America” (Bloomberg Businessweek + Equality)

   Because the profit margins for most childcare providers is 1% and the Build Back Better bill is very weak in addressing the problems of the entire system.

3. “How ‘Shadow’ Foster Care Is Tearing Families Apart” (NYT Magazine)

   Because “over the past decade, states have increasingly institutionalized hidden foster care, through statutes and departmental policies. Rather than bringing the results of an investigation before a judge, caseworkers persuade parents to send their children to live with someone they know, often by threatening a foster placement if they refuse. Parents, unsure whether caseworkers have the evidence to remove their children in a court proceeding, choose the option that, at first glance, appears to give them more control. What the parents rarely know is that, unlike the foster system, the shadow system is not designed to support their children.”

4. “Well I Guess This Is Growing Up” (GQ Magazine)

   Because a member of Blink-182, Mark Hoppus, accidentally told social media this past summer that he had blood cancer, and he’s now found a bit of redemption with his former bandmates and a renewed sense of life — including a renewal of his faith. (n.b. there is cursing and a bit of vulgarity in the article, which shouldn’t be surprising because we’re talking about a 1990s pop-punk band member.)

5. “The American Prison System’s War on Reading” (Protean)

   Because books in prisons greatly reduce recidivism and greatly increase mental health, yet more and more states are placing huge hurdles on book donations to fight contraband, even if studies show books aren’t the problem.