The FADER Weekend Reading List

Dan Kois, New York Times

It’s well known that the citizens of Iceland are generally happier than most. They also apparently have access to outdoor communal hot pools that they indulge in even when the weather’s below freezing. “If you don’t have a swimming pool, it seems you may as well not even be a town,” the mayor of Reykjavik, Dagur Eggertsson told Kois. “These public pools, or sundlaugs,” Kois continues, “serve as the communal heart of Iceland, sacred places whose affordability and ubiquity are viewed as a kind of civil right.” Could they be the secret to Iceland’s happiness?

Also from NYT this week: A New Dark Age Looms, an opinion piece on how humans will (or won’t) deal with earth’s changing patterns.

Vinson Cunningham, The FADER

Erykah Badu is a soul singer, midwife-in-training, the co-owner of a new production company, and on the cover of The FADER’s annual Producers Issue. On the eve of her 45th birthday, she opened the doors of her home to writer Cunningham and photographer Jody Rogac for this personal, in-depth portrait of a modern icon.

Leah Sottile, Broadly

This story is so horrifying I wish it were fiction. Unfortunately, it’s not: 33 out of every 100 women in Alaska have experienced some kind of sexual assault. It’s rampant up there for a plethora of reasons, and reading the stories of teachers left to fend off physical threats without the support of community or administration or police is really rattling.

Christopher Pomorski, The Guardian

A band of retired cops based in Camden, New Jersey, one of the most crime-ridden cities in the U.S., have begun a cold case team. Pomorski tries to find out whether solving old crimes will restore trust in the Jersey police, and help prevent new ones.

Erika Adams, Racked

This article is kind of like a bildungsroman-style profile of how Gap Inc.-owned mega brand Old Navy decided what it really wanted to be, and why it’s on the verge of a successful comeback.

The FADER Staff

“No person embodied the kinds of cliché inspirational quotes about self-acceptance, so often tossed around half-heartedly, more than Prince did: backed by immense talent, he turned his idiosyncrasies into a mesmerizing power. All by following his gut, his heart, and his third eye. He was a guiding light who made the idea of being yourself in public feel like something to aspire to, not something to fear.”

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