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As seen on Long Reads, Digg, and my own web browsing:

• Is more democracy always better democracy? Yes, argues The New Yorker, especially since party primaries determine the leading candidates.
• What happens when notoriety kills something? Here’s your answer in a terrific story titled I found the best burger in the country, then I killed it.
• Missing the story. Rebuilding public trust starts by including more voices in the media and diversifying (or at least offering empathy training) to mostly white newsrooms, argues The Columbia Journalism Review.
• Believing without evidence is always morally wrong. Or so convincingly argues Aeon.
• Inside the booming business of background music. Why retailers and sports teams are spending big money on music design, according to The Guardian.
• Why saving the world is crazy hard. According to a hard-to-read personal account of third-world atrocities by The Walrus.
• How $3000 elite teams are killing youth sports in America. Expensive travel leagues siphon off talented young athletes and leave everyone else behind, reports The Atlantic. (Which is partly why my wife is starting a non-profit competitive league next year—go Lindsey!)