In this issue
Archives
Issue #24 August 29, 2013 Aug 29, 2013 Aug 29
Issue #9 January 31, 2013 Jan 31, 2013 Jan 31
Issue #1 October 11, 2012 Oct 11, 2012 Oct 11
 
 
 
From Issue #42 May 8, 2014

Editor’s Note

We pull a cork in celebration.

By The Editor Twitter icon 

Get a regular notification by email of new issues: sign up for our list.

The cover of issue 42

Photo by Cara Parks

Nice to meet you

Our third and last book-release party took place April 30 in Portland; early in April, we had celebrations in Seattle and San Francisco. It was a terrific thing to roll out the book and meet many of you in person, chat with authors and artists who contributed to the book and to The Magazine, and remember that all of this has to do with connecting with people and telling stories — the book was a great excuse to make something lasting and pull us all together.

A display at Reading Frenzy in Portland

We’ve added two more ways to get the book affordably in the meantime! The hardcover book can be ordered in the US for $30 (including shipping), but if you are outside the US, the shipping costs are very high. So we produced a paperback, black-and-white edition of the book (with a lovely four-color cover) that is less expensive, has more stories, and has low worldwide shipping costs.

The paperback has all 40 stories that appear in the ebook edition (the hardcover has 28 due to production costs). It’s roughly $20 anywhere in the world in local currency, and shipping is from $3 to $8. This edition is produced through print on demand, so a unique copy is created when you order, and it’s printed as close to you as possible, which is why shipping is cheaper.

And while you can get our ebook edition for $15 in unlocked PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats, we’ve also listed our Kindle edition for about $10 directly through the Kindle Store. (It’s also sold without DRM, but the Kindle edition doesn’t come with the EPUB and PDF.)

For a full rundown of the book’s contents and how you can purchase it, see our book page.

In this issue

A few issues ago, Julian Smith looked at DIY medical equipment: low-cost ways to create medical devices that function as well as (and sometimes better than) items costing often hundreds of times as much. Amy Westervelt looks at a different aspect in this issue in Wear and Tear: using existing, relatively inexpensive electronics to provide monitoring and information that can empower individuals to seek medical treatment as needed — or just to give peace of mind.

Cara Parks has a lengthy history with wine pullers of all sorts. She says to Twist and Shout about the variety and history of such cork yankers.

A bit of twine transformed between two hands is an icebreaker that transcends cultures and languages, says Matthew Amster-Burton. He has a String Theory about it.

And April Kilcrease goes out wandering with a band of scent artisans who follow their noses to find smells that come from the earth. They disdain the chemically derived nonsense we daub on ourselves, and return to nature as a matter of Scents and Sensibility.

Hail, fellows, well met

The Magazine is written by freelance writers, some of whom have day jobs and others of whom make a living through a typically interesting mix of reporting and other writing. Two of them are about to get a break from their routines, however, to take a year to study at Harvard.

I wanted to congratulate Gabe Bullard and Celeste LeCompte, contributors to our fine publication, for being selected as Nieman Foundation fellows for the 2015 academic year. The idea of these fellowships, awarded to about 24 journalists each year, is to give the recipients the chance to pursue an extended study of a topic, almost like a thesis. Gabe, a radio news director, will study “the changing perceptions of American history in politics and culture.” Celeste will investigate how to create business models “that reward reader-centric reporting and distribution.”

Celeste wrote Works in Progress for the October 24, 2013, issue, looking into the enduring legacy of New Deal arts and infrastructure and the difficulty of cataloguing what was made and where it remains. Gabe has written articles on several topics for us, including cosplay (also in our book), pen obsessions, and bourbon.

During their fellowships, they have to abstain from regular assignments, so we’ll miss them for a bit while they study in carrels.

Letters

You can tap the Share button in iOS at the top of any article and then tap Write Letter to Editor. Or email us with your thoughts, noting any article to which they apply. We also read comments and questions on Facebook, Twitter, and App.net. (Although we see iTunes reviews, we cannot respond there; please contact us directly with any issues that need a response.)

The Magazine is produced by a small but dedicated editorial staff.

You can purchase our complete archives, almost 300 articles, as a DRM-free ebook in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats. We ceased publication of new work on December 18, 2014.
You can purchase our complete archives, almost 300 articles, as a DRM-free ebook in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats.
©2021 Aperiodical LLC. The Magazine's online ISSN: 2334-4970. We ceased publication on December 18, 2014. You can purchase our complete archives, almost 300 articles, as a DRM-free ebook in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats. Read our privacy policy. Learn more about us. Billing troubles? Email us. Talk with us on Facebook and Twitter. Consult our FAQ for more answers. iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc.