Iraq's Troubled Young Hearts

In the August heat, the waiting room of the Sulaimany Centre for Heart Disease was packed with worried parents. Some had been waiting for this day for months. Others just showed up. They had heard on TV that for 11 days an international team would be fixing children's hearts for free. They dressed their sick children in suits and taffeta dresses and came, prepared to beg.

Yazidis: Power & Peril

In the mountains of northwest Iraq, people are gathering again. Four times a year they pile their cars high with mattresses and food and travel to the base of a narrow valley to visit Lalish, the place where the earth began.

The Citadel's Keeper

In the early evening when the wind is low, the calls to prayer multiply into a thousand echoes as they drift through the ruins of Erbil’s citadel. It is around this time the guards herd visitors out through two massive archways and settle in for the long night, smoking cigarettes in the moonlight. If they listen closely, the cry of a baby is the only thing that can be heard from within the city walls.

12 Days, 12 Cities, 12 Families • The Huffington Post

A 12-part series of families from cities across the U.S. -- stories of struggle, hope and redemption. With the ability to donate to each featured family, Huffington Post readers raised more than $12,000 for those in need.
Read the stories: When tragedy strikes, Detroit man turns to art, kindness • Jail Release Just The Start Of One Man's Road To Redemption • One Month Away From Homelessness: L.A. Mom Keeps Hope Alive • Fraud, Cancer, House Collapse: Adversity Inspires Philly Mom To Pay It Forward • Fire Steals Possessions, Job, Security From Single Mother Of 6 Kids • Teen Gets A Push Toward Success From Extreme Sports Mentor

Bump and grind: Burlesque out of the back room and into the spotlight

The studio loft on the Near West Side is unabashedly girly, with deep red walls and plush fabric. On this midwinter night, students are greeted like family and act very at home, lounging on the couch doing math homework or texting on blackberries while they wait for class to begin. Another instructor sits in the corner and sews. It feels almost like hanging out in a friend's living room, until the music cues up and you realize that the instructor in the corner is wearing a T-shirt that reads "I heart boobies" and she's sewing feathers onto a hot pink bra.
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"I'll take 100 shares of American Gothic, please

Two Chicago art lovers say they have a potential solution to the financial squeeze being felt by art museums and institutions: Share the wealth locked up in those collections. Their proposed funding mechanism would change the way art is bought and sold in the U.S.

Will perform poetry for food

Poet Gregory Pickett started the new year at a homeless shelter in Wrigleyville. But losing his job, his apartment, and spending a brief stint sleeping on el trains has had an odd side-benefit, Pickett says. His poetry is getting better, and he's finally finding some of the success he's sought for the last 10 years. (audio story)
More: Pickett & audio story featured on Indiefeed's performance poetry podcast