Premium summer big reads: Why Abigail Disney is trying to shame the family business

Abigail Disney has opened up about the unfairness of wealth and family. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand Herald is bringing back some of the best stories of 2019 from our premium international syndicators, including The New York Times, Financial Times, The Times of London and Harvard Business Review.

This morning we look at the Disney scion speaking out, inside the life of a CIA agent, the cancel culture that dominated 2019, 200 nerds on a boat and how influencers are taking over the world.

Why Abigail Disney is trying to shame $250 billion company that bears her name

Far from LA, Abigail Disney's family's creations continued to stalk her. "When I brought my baby home from the hospital and Mickey Mouse was on her first diaper I wanted to vomit," she says: "I used to call him 'that f***ing mouse', TFM for short."

The entertainment heiress tells the Financial Times why she's trying to shame the $250 billion company that bears her name.

"When I brought my baby home from the hospital and Mickey Mouse was on her first diaper I wanted to vomit," Abigail Disney said.

My secret life as a CIA agent in the war on terror

For years, she lived in the shadows. To her family and friends, she was an art consultant with global contacts; in reality, she was a CIA agent running covert missions combating terrorism. So is Amaryllis Fox the real-life version of TV's famous undercover operative, Homeland's Carrie Mathison?

Ben Hoyle of The Times finds out.

For years Amaryllis Fox's family thought she was a global art consultant when in reality she was a CIA agent. Photo / Doug Mills, The New York Times

So you've been 'cancelled'. What happens now?

The term for people who have been thrust out of social or professional circles for unpopular views or behaviour — either online, in the real world, or sometimes both — is "cancelled".

John McDermott of The New York Times looks at how depriving people of a platform works — in unexpected ways.

Katie Herzog was 'cancelled' after publishing an article about trans people who halt or reverse transitions. Photo / Jenny Riffle, The New York Times

What happens when you put 2000 nerds on a boat?

Cocktail parties. Board games. Cosplay.

The New York Times takes us inside the JoCo Cruise, an annual gathering for those who love sci-fi, games with many-sided dice and the musician Jonathan Coulton.

Don't scoff at influencers. They're taking over the world

When the first TikTok star is elected president, I hope she will save some room in her Cabinet for older and more conventional bureaucrats.

I say "when," not "if".

Kevin Roose of The New York Times looks at how as social media expands its cultural dominance, the people who can steer the online conversation will have an upper hand.

Those who have mastered social media platforms are going to dominate society as a whole. Photo / 123RF