From Buzzfeed, Naomi Zeichner on how Miss Info became hip-hop’s ultimate insider: Today, Minya Oh is the linchpin of Hot 97, rap’s most influential radio station — getting there only took 20 years. Mat Honan on the most fascinating profile you’ll ever read about a guy and his boring startup. Challenging the president, but only on the golf course: Marvin Nicholson, the White House travel director, who has played golf with the president about 140 times, rounds out the president’s foursomes and soothes his frayed feelings. The Jack Ma Way: At Alibaba, the founder is squarely in charge. Meant as portraits, seen as hagiography: Readers often expect profiles to be puff pieces — so nuanced profiles can run counter to their expectations. Wrath of the Bollywood Superfans: Dave Besseling set out to write an honest profile of Shahid Kapoor, one of India’s biggest stars — his fans may never forgive him. Prince Harry at 30: Brilliant, dangerous and loving — just some of the Prince's qualities, says his biographer Penny Junor in a highly personal portrait. He is one of America's greatest songwriters, a hero from Texas to San Francisco, a hippie's hippie and a redneck's redneck — but does anyone really know Willie Nelson? Amy Wallace on Viola Davis as you’ve never seen her before: Leading lady. New York Times profile reduces Shonda Rhimes to an “angry black woman” (and more and more). The weirdest story about a conservative obsession, a convicted bomber, and Taylor Swift you have ever read. Scholar behind U. of Illinois boycotts is a longtime activist: CUNY’s Corey Robin has provided a constant stream of online analysis, muckraking, and megaphone-ready incitement. Exile on North Seventh Street: Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgia’s ex-president, plots return from Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
