Weekend Long Reads – 18 May

Take some time this weekend to delve a bit deeper and enjoy these long reads.

The Money Shot – Kara Swisher (Vanity Fair)

The sale of Instagram to Facebook for a cool billion in the spring of 2012 was the ultimate Silicon Valley fairy tale: 18 months from launch to offer. But, for co-founder and C.E.O. Kevin Systrom, it was more of a roller-coaster ride, with several missed opportunities, at least two “aha” moments, and one major reboot.

On the Border – Alan Taylor (The Atlantic)

The border between the United States and Mexico stretches 3,169 kilometers (1,969 miles), crossing deserts, rivers, towns, and cities from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico. Every year, an estimated 350 million people legally cross the border, with another 500,000 entering into the United States illegally. No single barrier stretches across the entire border, instead, it is lined with a patchwork of steel and concrete fences, infrared cameras, sensors, drones, and nearly 20,000 U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The Mindy Project should be more like Louie – Todd VanDerWerff (The AV Club)

The Mindy Project entered the 2012 fall season with a full head of steam. When asked by The Huffington Post which comedy series they were most looking forward to, a much larger number of TV critics selected it than any other new comedy series.

Appetites: It’s cool NOT to cook – Tom Crann (MPR News)

The pressure to cook is enormous. For people who don’t cook, it can be shaming.