Happy Monday, Lunch Club! I hope you had a great weekend. I spent mine hiking with my two pups, Dexter and Roscoe, and listening to some great podcasts. I have included those recommendations below.

Two of this week’s pieces deal with the cost of redemption—one through the life of a bear, the other through the guilt of a driver.

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Stories that will stay with you longer than your lunch break.

Bringing Vietnam’s Bile Bear Industry to an End

Reading this story feels like witnessing both horror and hope bound together. It begins with the haunting image of Chinh, an Asiatic bear caged for two decades, drained of his bile in a backyard shed outside of Ho Chi Minh City, and expands into the quiet, stubborn compassion of those working to free him and others like him. Such a moving read.

www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/magazine/entry/bringing-vietnams-bile-bear-industry-to-an-end

“Jason Lives” in Rutledge, Georgia

Pat Cassels’ visit to the real camp where Friday the 13th Part VI was filmed starts as a fun horror-themed weekend, but turns into a surprisingly touching look at why people are drawn to dark stories and shared nostalgia.

oxfordamerican.org/oa-now/jason-lives-in-rutledge-georgia

What do you do after you accidentally kill a child? - The Sunday Long Read

The worst Thursday of Ryan Nickerson’s life started like any other. But he's had to live with its consequences every day since.

sundaylongread.com/2024/11/20/ryan-nickerson-traffic-death-accidental-killer

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Podcasts 🎧

Terry Gross – Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso

This was an incredible conversation with Terry Gross, the long-time host of NPR’s Fresh Air, which is celebrating its 50th year. From reflections on her early life and the recent death of her husband, to the recollections of memorable interviews, this was an emotional interview.

talkeasypod.com/terry-gross

From bank robber to scholar: the Knoxville dropout fighting to change how we see addiction – podcast

Kirsten Smith was 19 when she first tried heroin; within a few years she was in prison. She says she willingly made bad choices and wants society to stop treating addiction as a diseaseBy Xi Chen. Read by Katherine Fenton

www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2025/oct/03/from-bank-robber-to-scholar-the-knoxville-dropout-fighting-to-change-how-we-see-addiction-podcast

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