Each week, BIV staff will share with you some of the interesting stories we have found from around the web.
Kirk LaPointe, editor-in-chief:
A well-crafted essay on presidential impeachment that looks at a handful of books on the subject and some of the subtle conclusions of the Mueller report. It leans toward favouring the pursuit of impeachment, but is mindful of the consequences of that pursuit. – The New York Review of Books
https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/06/27/mueller-trump-impeachment-question
This extraordinary investigation examines the 2008 fire on a Universal Studios lot in Hollywood that destroyed as many as 175,000 master recordings, the most significant loss of music history in memory. Indifference and negligence continue to plague the important function of archiving original recordings. The craziest thing about the fire: the industry covered it up. – The New York Times Magazine
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/11/magazine/universal-fire-master-recordings.html
Carrie Schmidt, editorial researcher:
This one has almost everything you want in a business scandal: lies, lawsuits, intrigue and bikinis (may we all look as fabulous as Ms. Ferrarini when we are 61) – the only things missing from this weirdness are drugs and murder. I would not want to have been the fact checker on this delicious long read, published in December 2018 but perfect for a leisurely summer read. – The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/business/kiini-bikini-lawsuit-ipek-irgit-solange-ferrarini.html
“The fact that Philadelphia barrister Francis Alexander Malofiy, Esquire, is suing Led Zeppelin over the authorship of “Stairway to Heaven” is, by any objective measure, only the fourth most interesting thing about him. Unfortunately for the reader, and the purposes of this story, the first, second and third most interesting things about Malofiy are bound and gagged in nondisclosure agreements, those legalistic dungeons where the First Amendment goes to die. So let’s start with number four and work our way backward.” – Philadelphia Magazine
https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/02/11/francis-malofiy-led-zeppelin/
Mark Falkenberg, deputy managing editor:
New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger fires back at the U.S. president’s tweeted accusation that his paper committed a ‘virtual act of treason’ in writing about U.S. cyberattacks on Russia’s power grid. – Wall Street Journal
https://www.wsj.com/articles/accusing-the-new-york-times-of-treason-trump-crosses-a-line-11560985187
Residential redevelopment is putting heavy pressure on Vancouver artists, with Strathcona’s Merge and Index the latest arts venues to be renovicted by new landlords – Vancouver Sun
Timothy Renshaw, managing editor:
In the market for a super penthouse? Best book a flight to Singapore, where six of the 11 currently on the sales block are located, and join Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, who picked up a modest duplex back in 2017 for S$60 million. – Business Times
Are taxes on airlines and their passengers doing much to reduce the environmental impact of air travel? Apparently not. – International Air Transport Association
https://www.iata.org/pressroom/facts_figures/fact_sheets/Documents/fact-sheet-greentaxation.pdf
Getting you ready for your ringside seat in the runup to the 2020 U.S. presidential race, your cannabis voters guide to 2020 presidential candidates. – VPR Brands LP
http://vprbrands.com/cannabis-vote-2020/
Glen Korstrom, reporter:
Powerful, detailed and engaging, this 10,000-word piece on what happened with the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is great to print out for beach reading as there are limited clicks that the Atlantic allows per month unless you have a subscription. The tale comes alive through characters involved and it reveals what we know for sure as well as some of the mysteries that remain about the flight that went off radar in 2014 only to seemingly sharply change direction. – The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/07/mh370-malaysia-airlines/590653/
This is more of a collection of short videos than reading, but the New York Times did a good job at asking 18 questions to 21 Democratic presidential candidates, and truncating the answers. An example of that is in the question about whether the candidate supports the death penalty. The screen splices into segments reminiscent of the Brady Bunch where four or six candidates together can say the same thing. Worth watching for the wonderful editing as well as to get a sense of how the large field differs on important issues. – New York Times
