How did a Kentucky entrepreneur, a Louisiana politician, and the vice president of Nigeria end up in one of the biggest scandals to hit America’s black elite in decades?

During WWII, a bomber crashes into the Pacific and the crewmen begin an epic battle against dehydration, exposure, and endless attacks by sharks. Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken.

Western execs on what it’s like to be taken over by a Chinese firm.

A first-person rumination on a lifetime spent behind bars.

An oral history of a family in Mexico City, in transition from poverty to the lower-middle class, as they scramble to organize the burial of a slum-dwelling aunt.

An encyclopedic evisceration of the NFL owner and former Six Flags chairman.

On the mysterious life story of blues icon Blind Willie Johnson and a half-century of attempts to fill in the blanks.

William Gibson’s controversial take on the sanitized wonderland that is Singapore.

A survey on where the industry is headed. Says one agency veteran: “Marketing in the future is like sex. Only the losers will have to pay for it.”

On the workings of Sarah Palin’s inner circle.

An investigation into Lashkar-i-Taiba, the group behind the 2008 Mumbai massacre, and why Pakistani authorities has not arrested their leaders.

A history of entrepreneurship in New York City, starting with shipping magnate Jeremiah Thompson’s big gamble in the 1820s: scheduled departures.