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In the Top 5:
- How sickle cell patients are pressured into sterilization
- How opioid restrictions harm the terminally ill
- The enshittification of bowling
- The sudden ubiquity of steroids
- Why sperm is a hot commodity
1. Coercive Care
Eric Boodman | STAT | May 21, 2024 | 7,009 words
About 100,000 people in the United States have sickle cell disease. Roughly 90 percent of them are Black. And many of them have harrowing, even devastating experiences with reproductive health care. For this investigative feature, Eric Boodman, one of the finest writers covering science and medicine today, speaks to 50 women with sickle cell disease about their experiences. They describe being pressured into having tubal ligations, hysterectomies, and abortions. “Some stories carry echoes of ‘Mississippi appendectomies’ of the mid-20th century, in which Black women would go in for a different procedure and wake up to learn that their uterus had been removed,” Boodman writes. His sources also talk about being judged, scolded, and shamed by doctors, which Boodman describes as “a kind of verbal sterilization, when doctors express the pernicious belief that people with sickle cell disease cannot or should not have kids.” Boodman examines the meaning of “informed consent” and reveals how the strict definition of the term can be exploited by doctors, protecting them from liability while still ruining the lives of patients. This story is beautifully written to boot, amplifying its impact. It is the first in an ongoing series. I am excited—and terrified—for the rest. —SD
2. Pain and Suffering
Ann Neumann | The Baffler | June 4, 2024 | 3,561 words
In the aftermath of the opioid crisis, have we gone too far in restricting access to pain medication, creating agony for the terminally ill and stigmatizing those with a legitimate need for pain relief? Writing for The Baffler, Ann Neumann thinks so. “Opium and its derivatives are the most effective pain relievers known to man,” she writes. Because heavy restrictions have reduced morphine demand, it’s less profitable for drug companies. Less profit ensures drug companies are less motivated to produce it, causing shortages. This means you or someone you love may not have access to morphine, which the World Health Organization notes is “the most basic requirement for the provision of palliative care.” Neumann delves into the history of opium and its derivatives, revealing a centuries-old cycle of “use, abuse, and control” that has failed those struggling with addiction and those who require pain management. Her approach is a compassionate one, which I deeply appreciate. My mom suffers from sudden debilitating pain that can last for days, yet she’s loathe to take what she’s been prescribed because she’s worried about becoming addicted. The stigma runs deep. “Rather than shame and blame the drugs, the drug manufacturers, or the drug users, we will see no real progress until we compassionately tackle addiction’s roots in poverty, trauma, racism, policing, and inadequate health care,” she writes. “A society that has seen the kind of abuse of opioids the United States has experienced, along with widespread confusion about their proper use, is a society immersed in many varieties of pain.” To vary an old idiom: if only an ounce of compassion could be worth a pound of cure. —KS
3. Meet The New Kingpin
Amos Barshad | The Lever | May 30, 2024 | 3,701 words
I had a surprisingly decent Caesar salad at my second nephew’s birthday party recently—at a bowling alley. In addition to the spread of food, I was impressed by the setup, from the party decor the facility provided to its modern and comfy lounge seating at each lane. But I didn’t know, until I read this story about the Bowlero Corporation, that this place is part of an empire of bowling centers that’s wiping out independent bowling alleys across the US—and that it isn’t meant to be a bowling alley at all, but an “upscale entertainment center.” Reading Barshad’s piece on the rise of the private equity-backed firm Bowlero, which is the largest bowling center operator in the world, put the experience into context. Yes, we sipped craft beer and cocktails, and the food wasn’t that bad. But the kids spent more time at the arcade and laser tag than actually bowling, and gone was the no-frills feel of a neighborhood bowling alley. I realize that’s a plus for some people, but it honestly made me sad. When I was a kid, I loved bowling with my dad at our local spot (shout-out to Bel Mateo Bowl, which still operates in San Mateo, California!). I remember all the league signs hanging above us with bowlers’ highest scores. The shop where they measured my tiny grip and drilled holes into my very own eight-pound ball with my name on it. My dad hooking his ball perfectly, alongside other silent and methodical bowlers, throwing strike after strike. This is the bowling experience I grew up with—a culture, Barshad writes, that’s under threat as Bowlero expands. My pick last week was similar in that it commented on the privatization of another beloved pastime—surfing—but in that piece, the author laments changes in the sport while seeing the positives of riding an artificial wave inside a mall. Barshad’s dive into the inner workings of Bowlero, however, reveals a monopoly with no redeeming qualities. From discriminatory hiring and employment practices to a CEO who’s only interested in lining his pockets, it’s clear that the people running the company don’t care about the sport. “I don’t think anyone takes bowling seriously,” the CEO once said. “Why would you?” This is a great but depressing read from Barshad. There are 3,500 independent bowling centers left in the country; if yours still stands, support it. —CLR
4. Why Is Everyone on Steroids Now?
Rosecrans Baldwin | GQ | June 5, 2024 | 4,971 words
For some reason, I have a bottomless appetite for the ways people try to crystallize the zeitgeist. Pantone has its color of the year. (Peach fuzz.) Oxford and Merriam-Webster, their words of the year. (Rizz and authentic, respectively.) Time, its Person of the Year. (Taylor Swift, though it’s only a matter of time before “insufferable 20-person polycule” breaks through.) And of course, writer after writer tries to coin the next “vibe shift.” For GQ, Rosecrans Baldwin investigates a corporeal version: men who are getting yoked and/or staving off aging by any means necessary injectable. Maybe you’re blessedly unaware of this phenomenon! Maybe your personal algorithm has avoided the onslaught of mesomorphs preaching the iron gospel on TikTok. Maybe you’ve not yet hit the age at which the word “testosterone” magically proliferates in your inbox and podcast feed. But with weight training bigger than it’s ever been, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has exploded in parallel. Baldwin talks to an endless array of people who augment themselves from every apothecary aisle; steroids, SARMs, peptides, growth hormones, and more. These confer varying effects and pose varying degrees of risk, but the most shocking thing about the piece isn’t the horror stories about things gone wrong. It’s the ubiquity. Then again, it’s yet another symptom of the mass image-driven insecurity fed by—and even accelerated by—social media. “The platforms are super apps for performance enhancement,” writes Baldwin. “[P]laces where the curious can be inspired by (edited) photos, introduced to (sketchy) regimes, and directed where to (illegally) purchase them, before finally sharing topless mirror selfies, to display their boost-gotten gains.” Yet, you won’t find Baldwin moralizing, hand-wringing, or psychologizing. Instead, he lets his sources do that work, and simply provides the scaffolding and context necessary to turn that into a story. And an illuminating one it is. —PR
5. You Wouldn’t Believe How Difficult It Is to Buy Sperm
Danielle Elliot | The Guardian | May 28, 2024 | 4,326 words
I have had two sets of friends go through the intrauterine insemination (IUI) process, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of buying sperm. I have already been confused—when, on being shown a donor, I was presented with a picture of a child (sperm banks use pictures of donors when they were children). I’ve been flabbergasted—at the cost of a single vial of sperm. Been dismayed—when it didn’t work. Delighted when it finally did. But, as knowledgeable as I thought I was on this topic, Danielle Elliot showed me I still had much to learn about this world. Sperm is a hot commodity, with low stock levels post-pandemic and a screening process that accepts only about 4 percent of donors. Elliot’s piece is a rollercoaster ride as she races to meet her ovulation cycles. With securing a vial of sperm akin to getting a Taylor Swift ticket, I felt my stress levels rising as Elliot dithers on the phone during plummeting stock, wanting to yell, “Just buy it!” at her. Even when sperm is secured, there are many hurdles to cross. One particularly frustrating moment is when Elliot misses a cycle because, as a doctor informs her, “The woman who facilitates sperm shipments will be on vacation next week.” Navigating logistics and expense, Elliot begins to consider other options: after all, $16,723 in, she is no closer to having a baby. Written with a searing honesty, you will find yourself deeply invested in this journey. —CW
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When Antonietta Vanished, Her Friends Couldn’t Get Any Answers. It was Only After She Died That the Mystery Began to Unravel
Maria Iqbal | Toronto Star | May 25, 2024 | 2,935 words
An Italian woman named Antonietta spent her last years in a care home, with no visits from anyone that knew her. But she was not friendless. So why was no one in her community informed of her whereabouts? A heart-wrenching story of a woman, quite literally, lost in the system. —CW
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