“Why Mormons Make Great FBI Recruits,” Atlas Obscura
Sarah Laskow offers some background on why members of the Mormon faith are aggressively wooed to join the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the CIA. She cites strong foreign language skills from missionary work, ease in getting security clearances and a willingness to serve as top factors. Laskow also shares historical insights, tales of double agents and lawsuits over Mormon higher-ups favoring agents of their own religion. — Corey Anderson, web editor
“Marlon James,” Paperback Writers
What kind of music does Macalester English professor and Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James listen to, and why? Bob Marley and the Wailers, sure, but that’s just for starters. James spends an hour on BBC Radio’s “Paperback Writers” show, sharing and talking about some of his favorites. Listen until Dec. 7. — Pamela Espeland, Artscape columnist
“The Most Metal Deaths in Middle-earth, Ranked,” The Toast
I missed this one when it first came out, but when I saw it last week I couldn’t stop laughing long enough to quote it. I’m a Tolkien nerd, and a metal nerd, and I was almost in tears for hours. Also, it has an illustration of Tolkien playing an electric guitar. — Jonathan Stegall, user experience engineer
“Living and Dying on Airbnb,” Matter
For a deep dive into the company that disrupted — and may come to define — lodging for travel, tech journalist Zak Stone has a devastating vantage point: His father was killed by a falling tree branch at an Airbnb property his family had rented for a vacation. Using his own story as an example of what happens when tech startups innovate first and deal with the tricky stuff — like safety regulations — later, Stone explains how Airbnb has assiduously worked to skirt and fight back against regulatory action designed to make sure travelers are safe in the spaces they stay. In the process, Stone drills past Airbnb’s flowery rhetoric and polished PR and asks a pivotal question: Is everyone on the Internet with a spare room or apartment prepared to take on the responsibility of an innkeeper? — Sam Brodey, Washington correspondent
“1968: Ball of Confusion,” Center for Politics
It was 47 years ago this month that Richard Nixon defeated Hubert Humphrey and George Wallace for the presidency. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, writes about the turbulent year in American politics that is the subject of the center’s documentary “Ball of Confusion” that is airing this month on PBS stations. — Peter Callaghan, city government reporter
