These past few years, I’ve become an avid consumer of whatever written media I can get my hands on. It’s an easy way to occupy your spare time, learn about the world, and stay up to date. If you’re interested, here’s some of the best I read and bookmarked over last year. Some are annotated to explain their inclusion.
January
February
The Guardian [UK]: Why liberal white women pay a lot of money to learn over dinner how they're racist - besides discussing racism, I just find many of these white women amusing
BBC [UK]: 'I could have been a K-pop idol - but I'm glad I quit' - be warned that this article talks about child abuse, neglect and exploitation, and eating disorders
March
Everybody was too busy with COVID to write articles
April
The Spinoff: Are you ready for radical change? Really?
Slate [US]: Can You Put These Gerrymandered States Back Together? - if you engage best through interactives
The Intercept [US]: The Moral and Strategic Calculus of Voting for Joe Biden to Defeat Trump — or Not
May
Foreign Policy [US]: A Motorcycle-Riding Leftist Feminist Is Coming for Erdogan - an insight into politics in the rising power of Turkey
The Spinoff: The minor parties on how they would have responded to the Covid-19 crisis - the most minor of parties get minimal media coverage, so this is a rare insight
Al Jazeera [Qatar]: Anatomy of a disinformation campaign: The coup that never was - incidents like this prove how unprepared we are for technological advancements interfering in geopolitics
BBC: The Auschwitz doctor who couldn't 'do no harm' - besides obviously being quite distressing, this mentions some gynaecological content if you’re not comfortable with that
“ “ “: How a bench and a team of grandmothers can tackle depression - this initiative makes me very proud of Zimbabwe
June
Thai Enquirer [Thailand]: Unrest continues for a seventh day in former British colony
Der Spiegel [Germany]: A Correspondent Looks Back at 40 Years on the Continent - Western media coverage on African countries is typically lacking; this is a rare exception
FiveThirtyEight [US]: The Republican Choice
“ “ “: Force For Change - being trans in the NZ Defence Forces
July
“ “ “ “ “ “ “: The two-step plan to becoming as happy as Simon Bridges
Foreign Policy: Oh God, Not The Peloponnesian War Again
Newsroom: An immigration handbrake is released - a closer look at Iain Lees-Galloway as a Minister, before his disgraced departure this year
August
The Guardian: Trans women pose no threat to cis women, but we pose a threat to them if we make them outcasts
Politico [US]: The Media’s Sudden Crush on Kamala Harris
September
I was too busy drafting my first articles to read articles
October
Stuff: National needs new values to rebuild - authored by the father of National MP Chris Bishop
November
Politico: What Planet Is AOC On? - despite the seemingly inflammatory title, this presents a balanced view of the other major party in US politics, the Democrats
December
Hollywood Reporter (US): 'Tenet' and the Past and Future of Christopher Nolan (spoilers for Nolan films!)
Radio New Zealand: A year in politics
Stuff: Tarras International Airport: The madness and genius of building it in the tiny Central Otago town - capping off the year with intrigue and secrecy down south
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