Hi 👋 

We’re back again with another reading list of some of the ✨ best ✨ longform stories across the internet.

Not to toot my own horn, but I was a bit on fire last week, so we’ve got a beefy list today 💪

We’re kicking things off with one hell of an investigation. This one, from Reuters, looks into the Pentagon’s twisted anti-vax, anti-mask propaganda campaign during the height of the pandemic. Its target was the Philippines, the frontier of the U.S.’s geopolitical tug-of-war with China.

Thousands of people died as a result 😠😔

And there are even more infuriating investigations in this edition. Like these back-to-back stories from ProPublica: one about Microsoft’s greed leading to a massive data breach and another about a cadre of scheming fundraisers that don’t actually use donations for their beneficiaries.

There are, of course, some light-hearted and… weird… stories here, too, as usual. Including this one about a nice elderly woman who can smell Parkinson’s disease and this one about people who buy and sell human remains.

In any case, as with last week, please let me know what you think of the list this week by voting in the poll below. 🙏

And we’re still trying to grow the newsletter! If you like what you read, please consider helping us grow by sharing it to your friends, colleagues and family! 🫶

Happy reading and see you again next Monday!

One long read…

I will admit that in choosing this as our spotlight story of the week, I’m kinda breaking my own rule.

Typically, I try to select something that’s been published relatively recently (as in, just a couple of days before TLR gets sent out.) This Reuters investigation came out last, last week, making it very old news as far as the media cylce is concerned.

But I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s really important to bring attention to this.

The Pentagon, despite a lot of resistance from other top U.S. officials and diplomats, ran a far-reaching propaganda campaign in the Philippines, targeting China and its pandemic products—masks, face shields, and, yes, its contentious vaccine Sinovac. 😷💉

The U.S. campaign sowed doubt and distrust of these products and raised questions about their effectiveness. If the virus itself came from China, why should we trust anything else that comes from it? so the typical messaging went.

Unfortunately, the U.S.’s propaganda worked wonders. So many people in the Philippines rejected Sinovac, opting instead to weather the virus with herbal and folk medicine like turmeric teas and steam inhalation.

And given that the U.S. hoarded the supposedly more effective vaccines—like Pfizer’s and Moderna’s—this left thousands upon thousands of Filipinos vulnerable to COVID-19. And while it’s impossible to quantify exactly how many people died because of this propaganda push, experts (as cited by Reuters) still believe that a lot of deaths can be traced back to the anti-vax fears stoked by the Pentagon’s efforts.

A long and in-depth investigation, but those are the best kinds. Really infuriating, too, so if that’s something that keeps you hooked, this story will be a quick read for you. I’d allot 30 to 45 minutes, personally.

… and then some

☠️ Harvard, the Human Remains Trade, and Collectors Who Fuel The Market | WBUR, Free

At the risk of being hyperbolic: This is an unbelievable story. And I mean that nearly literally. I never would have thought that there was a lucrative and dynamic market of discarded body parts from dead people, but here we are. This story does a good job of not just illuminating this very niche industry, but also exploring its human dimensions. It doesn’t always evoke empathy, but I don’t think that was the point, anyway.

Reasonably long, but honestly tough to take your eyes away from. Maybe 45 minutes, tops, distractions included.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Sixteen Kids and a Hitman | The Intelligencer, $

Speaking of stories that don’t evoke empathy—I found this one hard to connect with on many different levels. I don’t understand the compulsion to endlessly expand your family, nor do I sympathize with seeing it as God’s will (it doesn’t help that I’m not overly religious). But I still thoroughly enjoyed this story. The reporting was impressive, and the writing let that shine through.

Very long, but not too heavy to read. Maybe 30 minutes if you can stay focused, but might reach 1 hour if you’re distracted.

👃🏻 The Woman Who Could Smell Parkinson’s | The New York Times, Free (this is a gift link, so it should be free for a while)

I know I say this a lot, but I think it’s extra apt here: This is a perfect example of excellent science writing. The premise is great, and so is the prose. But what really shines for me is how the writer uses the story as an opportunity to explore the under-appreciated history of using smells in medicine—and to highlight the weaknesses of the often too-textbook nature of modern medicine. If doctors and researchers were a bit more open-minded and daring, then could we have had smell-based technologies to detect neurodegenerative diseases?

Also a very long story, though this one is very compelling. I blew through this one in 20 minutes. Might take you a bit longer if science stories aren’t your speed.

☢️ How the U.S. Betrayed the Marshall Islands, Kindling the Next Nuclear Disaster | Los Angeles Times, Free

This week’s archive pick is one from 2019, and one that looks at how the U.S. stopped (and will stop) at nothing to develop and refine its nuclear armament. Its imperial designs did not care about poor, black and brown communities outside its sphere of consciousness, often using third-world countries as its testing and dumping ground. Now, years later, there isn’t so much as a recognition from the U.S. of these harms, much less active efforts to clean up its mess.

Really long, but also really infuriating. If you’re into environmental justice (or if you’re motivated by rage), then this will go by quickly for you. It took me around 40 minutes.

🤑 For-Profit Journalism is Unsustainable | Current Affairs, Free

I’m going to sound like a prick here, but: Finally, influential people in the Media have started to realize what many of us have been saying for years now. Leaving the news (the lifeblood of democracy) in the mercy of market forces was never really sustainable, and was obviously a self-defeating business model. The writer here does a good job of illustrating this through his three main (and several smaller) examples. I also like that he proposed a way forward in the short term, though I would have wanted to see some more sustainable and long-term solutions.

Not too long, though it might be tough to read in some places because it really gets into the weeds of the Media crisis. I’d say 30 minutes, distractions included.

☎️ How a Network of Nonprofits Enriches Fundraisers While Spending Almost Nothing on Its Stated Causes | ProPublica, Free

ProPublica has really grown into a highly reliable source of at-the-very-least-decent investigations. And often, as in this case, their stories are excellently researched and written, digging deep into frauds and schemes that are highly consequential to the regular American. This story, in particular, uncovers a network of non-profits that solicit money from kind-hearted people. But instead of using these donations to advance their advocacies, this fundraising scheme instead funnels the money into affiliated companies, ultimately lining just a few people’s pockets.

Really good story, which makes it very easy to read despite being a bit long. I’d say 20 minutes at most, if you can stay focused.

👧🏻 A Generation of AI Guinea Pigs | The Atlantic, $

This might sound a bit too alarmist about AI (which I’m trying not to be), but this one really is a bit concerning. I agree that there seems to be no point in resisting the AI wave, but I’m not sure that using an essentially untested (and weakly regulated) chatbot on kids and their parents, who most likely won’t know better, is a good idea.

Not too long. Probably 10 to 15 minutes.

🖥️ Microsoft Chose Profit Over Security and Left U.S. Government Vulnerable to Russian Hack, Whistleblower Says | ProPublica, Free

Yet another incredible ProPublica investigation, though I must say that this one relies a bit too much on one whistleblower. But the revelations—and its implications—are huge nonetheless. Microsoft (yes, the tech giant) chose to put profits above client security and ignored warnings about a system weakness for years. The result was catastrophic, with Russia-affiliated hackers gaining access to troves of sensitive information. And yet the company has the gall to put the blame on its customers. I hope the people in power launches a probe into this.

Pretty long and gets technical in some places. ProPublica does a good job of making the tech jargon as accessible as possible, though. Might still take 50 minutes if you really try and chew on all the technicalities.

🗑️ ‘Your Plastic is Here’: How Easter Island Copes With 500 Pieces of Rubbish an Hour Washing Ashore | The Guardian, Free

There’s a lot being said right now about plastic pollution: trying to ban plastics completely, putting the blame on consumers and producers, uncovering the billion-dollar lobby efforts of the industry, etc. But this story cuts at the heart of it all, which unfortunately often gets drowned out: There are people and communities suffering heavily from all the plastic pollution. Rapa Nui is such an apt case for this. And yeah, sure, it’s impressive how the natives were able to mount their own effort to solve things for themselves, but I wish more people in positions of power could enact more systemic changes for these communities.

Not too long, which is a shame. Maybe 15 minutes?

🚬 Tobacco Funded Research: How Even Journals with Bans Find it Hard to Stem the Tide of Publications | The BMJ, Free

First, to address the biggest thing: Yes, this is a story published by a medical journal. That floored me, too. But kudos to The BMJ for running such a brave and public-facing story. I wish they’d syndicated it, though, so it would have had a larger reach.

But whatever the case may be, this is such a damning look at Big Tobacco, which has snapped up so many different companeis across a wide range of industries. It’s now nearly impossible to figure out which entities are connected to it. The scientific establishment will really have to step up its vetting process to find out which papers have been influenced by the industry.

Not too long, and very important. I’d say 20 minutes at most.

Around the world

Here are some of the most important/interesting/infuriating news bits from around the world last week:

1 - Israel’s offensive on Gaza continues, again killing dozens.
+ An airstrike targeting a civilian settlement killed more than 20 Red Cross staff. No one has yet claimed responsibility over the attack, though.
+ Netanyahu’s council might be unraveling though, and he last week dissolved his war cabinet.

2 - In other imperialist news, China is becoming even more belligerent in the South China Sea, with its coastguard amping up its assault on Filipino vessels.
+ Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin paid a courtesy visit to his fellow authoritarian Kim Jong Un of North Korea. The two might strike an arms deal.
+ Also in China: AI sex bots might hit the market soon.

3 - Thailand celebrates Pride month by becoming the first Southeast Asian country to officially recognize same-sex marriage.
+ Namibia also recorded a similar rainbow victory, with a key gay sex ban declared unstitutional.

4 - The World’s Ugliest Dog contest has wrapped up, naming the Pekingese Wild Thang as… well… the world’s ugliest dog. He’s still the goodest boy, though.

5 - As age verification laws sweep across the U.S., Pornhub pulls out from five more states: Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, and Nebraska.

6 - The plastic pollution crisis is getting out of hand. Microplastics have been discovered in dicks—and may have a role to play in erectile dysfunction.
+ It’s in our balls, too.

Thanks for reading! Please, please reach out if you have feedback, suggestions, or questions. I know some of the stories I recommend might be behind paywalls, and maybe I can help you with access to those, too!

Also, I’d appreciate it so much if you help me grow by sharing The Lazy Reader with friends or family who you think might also enjoy a good longform story 🫶

Until next Monday! 👋