What We’re Reading: September 10, 2015

Brutal Images of Syrian Boy Drowned Off Turkey Must Be Seen, Activists Say (New York Times)
by Robert Mackey
“A sense of weary resignation at the plight of the Syrians — and hundreds of thousands of other refugees and migrants taking desperate risks to reach the safety of Europe — was briefly punctured by horrifying images of one of the young victims, a small boy whose body was discovered, face down in the sand, by a Turkish police officer.”

Does the Tech Industry Even Deserve Women? (Broadly)
by Cecilia D’Anastasio
“It’s hard to be a feminist in tech, as countless horse-beating articles have confirmed over the last few years. It can feel like you’re ride-or-die with women or you’re just another complicit brogrammer. Potential whistleblowers weigh being tolerant of abuse or out of a job. Harassment happens, startlingly often and unprovoked, and it can feel it comes with the territory of tech jobs—just like a signed contract and a fridge stuffed with craft beer. ‘Lean in’ all you like, but in an industry where women largely lack the structural support to remain happy and healthy, there’s an underrated third option: ‘leaning out.’ ”

Public Goodbyes (Inside Higher Ed)
by Colleen Flaherty
“Like most breakups, those between higher education and the academics who choose to leave it typically happen quietly. But as in romance, sometimes these breakups become very public affairs — usually when an academic decides to reflect on the decision in a blog or other medium. The genre, called ‘quit lit,’ has been around for several years, at least according to social media.”

The Worst of the Worst (New Yorker)
by Patrick Radden Keefe
“Clarke may be the best death-penalty lawyer in America. Her efforts helped spare the lives of Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber), Zacarias Moussaoui (the so-called ‘twentieth hijacker’ in the 9/11 plot), and Jared Loughner (who killed six people and wounded thirteen others, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords, at a Tucson mall).”