Inspired: World Press Photo Awards

The results of the World Press Photo Awards were released a few weeks ago, and the winners are stunning. Out of 103,481 photographs from 5,666 photographers, a few winning photos were chosen by an international jury in a number of categories ranging from sports to news to daily life. These were a few of the photos I found most striking, but all of them are so incredible. Head over to the World Press website to check out the rest of the winning images for 2013.

Gaza Burial, Paul Hensen, 20 Nov 2013
Gaza City, Palestinian Territories
World Press Photo of the Year, 1st Prize, Spot News Singles

Joy at the End of the Run, Wei Seng Chen, 12 Feb 2012
Batu Sangkar, West Sumatra, Indonesia
1st Prize, Sports Action Single

Emperor Penguins, Paul Nicklen, 18 Nov 2011
Rose Sea, Antarctica
1st Prize, Nature Stories

Cross Country Steeplechase, Roman Vondrous, 15 Sep 2012
Pardubice, Czech Republic
1st Prize, Sports Action Stories

At the Dandora Dump, Micah Albert, 03 April 2012
Nairobi, Kenya
1st Prize, Contemporary Issues Singles

Want to know how they picked the winners? Check out these interviews with the jury members.

Best Reads of the Week

Oh look! A new feature!

For those of you who don't know me well, to say I read quite a bit might be a bit of an understatement. Part of this voracious reading appetite comes from my area of study- when one studies international relations and civil conflict, one needs to stay up on what's happening in the world. The other part is most likely predisposed. When I was a kid, my mother discovered that the best motivation to get me to do my chores was to confiscate my books until they were done. (Seriously, I was the kid who didn't clean my room because I was too buried in a book. Grounding or banishment to my room wasn't an effective consequence in the least.) Anyways, I'll be posting a short list of my favorite articles and books that I've read each week on various topics. I'm sure my favorite news sources will become pretty obvious over time (Al Jazeera, The Economist, Slate, The New Yorker...), but I'll try to have a nice selection of well-written and interesting articles for you every week. 

Without further ado, here are some of my favorite finds this week:

The harmful consequences of the quinoa craze may be over-exaggerated

An interview with President Obama

Two wonderful articles on Jane Austen and her legacy: Piece 1, Piece 2,

Google's attempt to map North Korea

Nonviolence for White People