What We're Reading: Great Reads from Steven Erlanger, Prashant Rao and others

Jay Newton-Small, a longtime reporter for Time magazine, was asked to fill out a 20-page questionnaire about her father, who had Alzheimer’s disease, when she moved him into a care facility. Instead, she used her professional background to write her father’s story for his caregivers. She found the experience so powerful that she left her reporting job and started a business creating similar profiles for others. [The New York Times] What We’re Reading If your friends would enjoy our recommendations of stories from around the web, forward this email and invite them to sign up at [nytimes.com/wwr]. You can also read us [on the web]. [Large Image] Kieran Kesner for The New York Times The Washington Post [Story as Self] Jay Newton-Small, a longtime reporter for Time magazine, was asked to fill out a 20-page questionnaire about her father, who had Alzheimer’s disease, when she moved him into a care facility. Instead, she used her professional background to write her father’s story for his caregivers. She found the experience so powerful that she left her reporting job and started a business creating similar profiles for others. [Go »] [author] Kitty Bennett Political Researcher [Large Image] Damon Winter/The New York Times Brookings [Factional Characters] A good piece by Thomas Wright, an expert in United States foreign policy, about what we know so far about Donald J. Trump’s foreign-policy “team.” It will surprise few that contradictions abound. [Go »] [author] Steven Erlanger London Bureau Chief [Large Image] Damon Winter/The New York Times The Atlantic [How to Say Goodbye] The election of Barack Obama that November night in 2008 struck me like a thunderbolt. Never in my lifetime did I think I would see an African-American in the White House. In this deep and moving piece, Ta-Nehisi Coates, who masterfully chronicled the black experience in “Between the World and Me,” reflects on what many feel in the waning days of the Obama administration. [Go »] [author] Lynda Richardson Senior Staff Editor, Travel [Large Image] Victor J. Blue for The New York Times Science of Us [Sizing Things Up] How many Muslims do you think live in your country? What is the population of new immigrants this year? Of Jews, worldwide? This crisp, thoughtful article lays out several reasons people, when asked, wildly overestimate — and points to the consequences that result. [Go »] [author] Jan Hoffman Health and Behavior Reporter [Large Image] Jim Urquhart/Reuters BBC [Wild Things] The BBC has recently been broadcasting the latest edition of perhaps the greatest nature documentary series going — “Planet Earth.” This video of bears rubbing against trees (to scratch off excess fur after a winter of hibernating), set to the music of “Jungle Boogie,” is wonderful. [Go »] [author] Prashant Rao Deputy Europe Business Editor Make a friend’s day: Forward this email. Get this from a friend? [Sign up here]. Share your feedback on What We’re Reading. Email us at [wwr@nytimes.com] This is an automated email. Please do not reply directly to this email. You received this message because you signed up for [NYTimes.com]'s What We're Reading newsletter. Click to [unsubscribe]. [Copyright 2016 The New York Times Company]. [NYTimes.com] 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018