Krista Stevens

4 days ago | longreads.com | Krista Stevens

For Alta Journal, Katya Apekinarecounts living through the Palisades and Eaton Fires that started in California on January 7, 2025. In a piece as evocative as it is apocalyptic, she recounts the flames through her window and the toxic smoke that blanketed the area during the fire and in the immediate aftermath. As a relative newcomer to Los Angeles, she finds that the disaster has forced her to reckon with the price she’s willing to pay to live in paradise. Things are OK/things aren’t OK.

5 days ago | longreads.com | Krista Stevens

In September, 1982, people were collapsing, falling into a coma, and dying in Chicago, Illinois, for reasons unknown. Two members of Janus family had died. A third member of the family was in a coma. Dr. Thomas Kim, Chief of Critical Care in the emergency room at Northwest Community Hospital couldn’t understand why young, seemingly healthy people were becoming catastrophically ill so suddenly. Was it botulism? Carbon monoxide poisoning?

1 week ago | longreads.com | Krista Stevens

Recently, I’ve read a lot about how microplastics can get into your blood and your brain. All of it scares me. Like Elyse Hauser, I’ve been worrying about the plastic around me. I’m trying to ditch my Tupperware for glass and eliminate using freezer bags. Is that enough? Will it ever be enough in this plastic-infused world? For Slate, Hauser attempts to get some baseline data on her body by measuring the microplastics present in her blood with a $150 kit she bought online.

1 week ago | longreads.com | Krista Stevens

Michelle Orange’s excellent Oxford American piece takes us to the Wheeling Island Hotel, Casino & Racetrack in Wheeling, West Virginia, one of only two active greyhound racing facilities remaining in the United States. There, Orange covers the deep divides between greyhound racing proponents and the lobbyists determined to put an end to a sport they deem cruel. I said goodbye to Fred, leaving him to the rest of the day’s betting.

1 week ago | longreads.com | Krista Stevens

Mike Smith had achieved financial success with his string of medical clinics. But he wanted more. He and collaborator Jonathan Hay released a jazz album together in 2017; it did well on the streaming platforms, until it got flagged for fraud. What Hay didn’t know about his musical partner is that streaming fraud was just the tip of the crime iceberg. According to the indictment, Smith uploaded the music onto streaming platforms and, with the help of contractors, created thousands of accounts.