![]() Angie Wang for BuzzFeed News
In what feels like more innocent times, mere days ago, I was, like much of the U.S., riveted by the unfolding college admissions scandal. It is an encapsulation of everything that’s wrong with American society, as well as being, as Slate’s Willa Paskin writes, “stupidly fun.” It's also a more extreme demonstration of how stacked in favor of rich kids the college admissions system is, as an anonymous former admissions officer reminds us in an essay we published this month.
Personal Essays Ben Kothe / BuzzFeed News
I Worked In College Admissions And Had To Admit A Bunch Of Mediocre Rich Kids by Anonymous Former Admissions Counselor
Celebrities like Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin don’t need to resort to criminality to get their kids into elite schools — college admissions already favor the wealthy.
Ryan Adams And The Betrayal Of Teenage Girls by Anna Held When I was a teenager, Adams’ songs convinced me that men had feelings too. But just because someone is sensitive doesn’t mean they care about you.
I Can Never Unsee What I Saw At The Oscars by Scaachi Koul
![]() Matt Petit / A.M.P.A.S. Handout via Getty Images
At this year’s Academy Awards, I found two different ceremonies: a beautiful dream inside the theater, and a bleak reality at the lobby bar.
My Childhood Pen Pal Convinced Me Our Future Was Together. He Was 51 by T Kira Madden Ben Kothe / BuzzFeed News; Jac Martinez
"There is a reason why you like it," Jet replies, "and that reason is shame." (An excerpt from T Kira Madden's Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls).
“I’m A Person, Not The Harbinger Of Some Cultural Apocalypse”: Traveling In Texas While Trans by Samantha Allen An excerpt from Samantha Allen’s Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States.
The Burden Of Being A First-Generation Immigrant by Nicole Denis-Benn ![]() BuzzFeed News; Courtesy Dennis-Benn Nicole, Jason Berger
Who Bleeds American Blood? by Mitchell Jackson My mom says giving blood is the most patriotic thing she does. Less than a hundred years ago, she would have been banned from the blood bank. (An excerpt from Mitchell S. Jackson's Survival Math.)
Newsletter exclusive: Deputy Culture Editor Rachel Sanders tells us what she’s into ![]()
As far as fresh, local fruits and vegetables are concerned, the East Coast is still going through an extremely bleak stretch of late winter. The carrots and potatoes and apples at the farmer’s market are starting to show their age after months in storage. To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with wrinkles, the aging process is natural, and EVERY carrot is beautiful — except to the people stocking NYC supermarkets, who are governed by more superficial concerns and at this point have mostly given up on anything that isn’t from California or even further afield.
Features Brinson+Banks for BuzzFeed News Even Lil Pump Can’t Have It All by Scaachi Koul The 18-year-old rapper’s Instagram flexes about money, drugs, and women have earned him millions of fans. In person, things aren’t quite so fun.
Elizabeth McCracken’s Weird Fiction Breathes Life Into Old Tropes by Maris Kreizman “I think all writers have this Platonic ideal of the book they’re going to write next, and then you realize that you’re hamstringed by your own obsessions.”
![]() Kiersten Essenpreis for BuzzFeed News Money, and how we spend it, is emotional. Financial therapists could help us talk about it.
Books Read The First Chapter Of Helen Oyeyemi's Fantastical New Novel Gingerbread Harriet Lee's homemade gingerbread has something close to magical powers — but it's not enough to earn her entry into the social circle she most covets.
These Are The 5 Books Chosen For The 2019 "One Book, One New York" Program by Arianna Rebolini Voting will begin April 1.
The Water Cure Is BuzzFeed Book Club's March Read. Check Out An Excerpt Here by Sophie Mackintosh ![]() BuzzFeed News; Courtesy Sophie Mackintosh Read the dream-like dystopian novel along with BuzzFeed community's most avid readers.
24 Books That Will Help You Face A New Beginning It's never too late to start again.
![]() A mysterious woman is found unconscious in a cemetery — next to a bag containing one corset, one bowling ball, one candlepin, and 15 pounds of gold.
Cultural Criticism Frank Micelotta Archive / Getty Images
How Rosie O’Donnell Became Daytime TV’s “Queen Of Nice” by Ramin Setoodeh
Rosie talked to Ramin Setoodeh about how she avoided being “a hypocritical fuck” before she came out, living with depression, and why she’ll “never talk to Ellen again.” (An excerpt from Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of “The View”).
“Leaving Neverland” Reveals The Monster We Didn’t Want To See In Michael Jackson by Niela Orr
In telling the gut-wrenching stories of two boys who survived Jackson’s alleged abuse, the HBO documentary digs deep into the most painful contradictions of a cultural icon.
I Wish More TV Shows Ran For Just One Season by Alison Willmore
Must the reward for a successful TV show always be for it to keep going until it's not as good as it used to be?
Columbia Pictures
Back in 1999, when nihilism was cooler than niceness, the shameless teen debauchery of Cruel Intentions sparked a generation’s sexual awakening.
Even Going Home Is Political On Solange’s New Album by Bim Adewunmi
When I Get Home is a vessel for both the personal and the political, making space to think about what our ongoing moment means.
How Traditional Ideas About The Ideal Father Can Mask Abuse by Imran Siddiquee
![]() Ben Kothe / BuzzFeed News; Getty Images From R. Kelly to Michael Jackson, men accused of preying on children often use idealized versions of fatherhood to maintain their innocence and hide their abuse.
Greta Is A “Murder Me, Mommy” Meme Come To Life by Alison Willmore French acting legend Isabelle Huppert is the rare fave who seems like she really could run you over with a car if you asked nicely enough.
Another newsletter exclusive: an interview with a writer we love! This month: Esmé Weijun Wang, whose new book, The Collected Schizophrenias is out now.
What are you reading... Esmé Weijun Wang? ![]() Kristin Cofer
"Publication is a wild ride, to be sure, and I'm currently working on getting the word out about my new book, The Collected Schizophrenias. But I've also finally broken the dry spell that I've been in for ages with a book that came out on the same day as mine: Where Reasons End, a novel by Yiyun Li, which is a novel unlike any I've ever read.
I approached this book with a bit of trepidation, as I knew the story behind it—Li's teenaged son died by suicide in recent years, and this book is about a mother and her dead son who are having a conversation in an unknown space outside of time. I thought the sadness of it might break me. But this book is also so beautiful, and Li is one of my favorite writers; I am about twenty pages in and I know that I will keep reading. It is a tender novel, and I am finding snatches of time to read from it here and there in between other things. I hope that it finds a wide audience. I am grateful for it already."
We’ve updated our privacy notice and cookie policy. Learn more about cookies, including how to disable them, and find out how we collect your personal data and what we use it for. Show privacy notice and cookie policy.
BuzzFeed, Inc. |