Arts May 06 Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Brief But Spectacular take on writing and memory As long as he can remember, author Viet Thanh Nguyen has been interested in how stories about his home country of Vietnam are told in America. In his own works, including the Pulitzer-winning novel "The Sympathizer," he centers on the…
Nation Jan 04 A renowned designer’s Brief But Spectacular take on making conversation In a world of Zoom and FaceTime, conversations may be more critical than ever to find connection. Designer Fred Dust shares his Brief But Spectacular take on how we can all communicate better together.
Science Mar 03 How this naturalist helps people fall more in love with the world John Bates is a naturalist who sees his professional purpose as enabling people to develop environmental literacy. Since 2003, Bates has been particularly interested in old-growth forests, made up of trees that are hundreds of years old at minimum. Bates…
Arts Jun 13 Artist Miguel Colon on community and learning to see himself New York artist Miguel Colon suffered for years before finally receiving a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, during a hospitalization. In the psychiatric ward, he did a lot of drawing, working on a graphic novel and realizing the “life-affirming”…
Arts Jun 03 Author Esme Weijun Wang on prioritizing compliments over criticism Esme Weijun Wang is the author of “The Collected Schizophrenias.” Although she was known as an overachiever growing up, Wang always focused on the mistakes she made rather than the successes and praise she accumulated. She offers her humble opinion…
Nation May 30 The struggle to find missing members of Navajo Nation The Brief But Spectacular team recently brought attention to the volume of sexual assault cases in the Navajo Nation. Now, Meskee Yanabah Yatsayte, leader of an organization that looks for missing persons from the Navajo community, explains this silent epidemic.
Economy Apr 11 Terrence Davenport on why the gig economy doesn’t work in his town The gig economy has created many opportunities for securing temporary work with companies like Uber and Taskrabbit. But despite the increased flexibility short-term employment provides, it doesn't pay off for everyone. Social entrepreneur Terrence Davenport, who coaches low-income clients on…
Arts Mar 21 The blacklist that rising screenwriters want to be on Franklin Leonard is the founder of The Black List, a website that aims to connect potential screenwriters with filmmakers. The site allows users to upload their screenplays and earn ratings from the site’s community, with the possibility of seeing their…
Health Mar 21 A mother’s story of why mental illness ‘should never be a crime’ Jerri Clark’s son Calvin was in college when his erratic behavior began, eventually leading to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. His run-ins with law enforcement convinced Clark that medical and legal systems have very little tolerance for individuals with serious…
Arts Mar 18 The juvenile justice system answers kids’ trauma with punishment, reporter says "There are literally...teenagers wasting away behind bars because adults can't figure out how better to serve them," says Ko Bragg, a reporter in Jackson, Mississippi, who focuses on how the media covers juveniles charged as adults. She says that experience…