Art theft, Watership Down and Michael Jackson
The most read stories of the week from the Gentle Reader community
This week, Gentle Readers turned to great writing to seek deeper meaning from the world’s most pressing news events. From understanding what’s driving the rising hate in France, to taking a painful look at the historic allegations against pop icon Michael Jackson, the community sought stories that don’t shy away from uncovering the truth.
Every week, Gentle Readers use our app to discover and enjoy the most compelling writing the internet has to offer. You can see what they loved reading below. The links will open in the Gentle Reader app, a quiet place to catch up on the week's best reads.
The week’s top Gentle Reads
What Constitutes An Individual Organism In Biology?
Derek J Skillings, Aeon
Working out where one hare ends and another begins is easy; a siphonophore, not so much. What is an individual in nature?
Watership Down, Yer Missin’ The Point
A Beautiful Resistance
On Watership Down’s change from 1978 to 2018, Druids, bio-purism and radical feminism.
France's Big Hate
Noëlle Lenoir, Project Syndicate
As the "Yellow Vest" protests in France become increasingly violent, President Emmanuel Macron and what he stands for have become the focus of the extremists’ hate.
The Greeter
T Kira Madden, Longform
I imagine them sending me to live with a family that is not my own. I have protected my parents for as long as I’ve been alive. If someone comes after them, I have teeth.
The Secrets of the World's Greatest Art Thief
Michael Finkel, Longform
Stéphane Breitwieser robbed nearly 200 museums, amassed a collection of treasures worth more than $1.4 billion, and became perhaps the most prolific art thief in history.
10 Undeniable Facts About the Michael Jackson Sexual-Abuse Allegations
Vanity Fair
Maureen Orth, who spent more than a decade covering the scandal for Vanity Fair, shares the key revelations and insights that viewers of the new HBO documentary Leaving Neverland need to know.
John Bolton May Save Us All
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic
The national security adviser could be our best hope for protecting the world from Donald Trump’s impulses.
Seawater Desalination: Why Making Seawater Drinkable Doesn’t Thrill Everyone
Bruce Stanley, BloombergQuint
It’s a cruel irony of the blue planet.
Why Silicon Valley will always need Wall Street
Christopher Porteous, The Next Web
The impressive rise of Silicon Valley as it became the global hub of technological innovation certainly took many on Wall Street by surprise.