Archive - May 9, 2022

Peter Hessler (China 1996-98) was teaching writing at Sichuan University, in southwestern China, when he was reported for political wrongdoing, accused on the social-media site Weibo of browbeating his students with criticism of the Chinese government. One commenter wrote that he had “spoke w/o restraint only b/c he considered himself a big writer; I think he’s gonna die soon.” Hessler recounts the episode in a gripping and deeply empathetic story in this week’s issue, in which he examines the ways that surveillance cameras, censored Internet, and rigorously enforced taboos have shaped the experience of higher education in China—for both teachers and students. Recalling the tension he felt in the classroom, he writes, “The Party had created a climate so intense that the political became physical.” —Ian Crouch, newsletter editor New Peter Hessler story https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/05/16/a-teacher-in-china-learns-the-limits-of-free-expression

  Two men, unified by a string of disappearances and deaths, search for answers — and salvation — in the jungles of Kaua‘i, Hawaii. Together, they must navigate the overlapping and complicated lines between a close-knit community and the hated, but economically-necessary corporate farms — and the decades old secrets that bind them. Project Namahana takes you from Midwestern, glass-walled, corporate offices over the Pacific and across the island of Kaua‘i; from seemingly idyllic beaches and mountainous inland jungles to the face of Mount Namahana; all the while, exploring the question of how corporate executives could be responsible for evil things without, presumably, being evil themselves. Project Namahana by John Teschner (Kenya 2003-05) Forge Books 304 pages June 2022 $14,99 (Kindle); $27.99 (Hardback); $17.86 (audiobook) • John Teschner (Kenya  2003-05) was born in Rhode Island and grew up in southern Virginia. He has worked as a newspaper reporter, professional mover, teacher, . . .