“This Guy Doesn’t Know Anything”
The inside story of Trump’s transition team.
Rick Owens Is Still Out There
“The palace doors flew open. It was him. It was Rick Owens, the American-born designer known to his fans as the Lord of Darkness.”
Man-Eaters
A quest for tigers in India.
Jerry Saltz is a Pulitzer-winning art critic for New York.
“To this day I wake up early and I have to get to my desk to write almost immediately. I mean fast. Before the demons get me. I got to get writing. And once I’ve written almost anything, I’ll pretty much write all day, I don’t leave my desk, I have no other life. I’m not part of the world except when I go to see shows.”
Thanks to MailChimp, TapeACall, The Dream, Squarespace, and Pitt Writers for sponsoring this week's episode.
The Cartel Next Door
How prosecutors tied a brazen murder in an upscale Dallas suburb to one of Mexico’s most violent criminal organizations.
Georgia’s Separate and Unequal Special-Education System
A statewide network of schools for disabled students has trapped black children in neglect and isolation.
Thus Spake Gary Keith & Ron
Riding along with the Mets broadcast trio, the main reason to watch the team.
Football, My Dad's Dementia, and Me
A road trip through an athletic career.
The In-Between Space
On labels.
How Russia Helped Swing the Election for Trump
An analysis of online activity during the 2016 campaign makes the case that targeted cyberattacks by hackers and trolls were decisive.
The Pioneer of Ruin
The woman who moved to a ghost town.
The Kick Is Up and It’s...a Career Killer
The precarious existence of NFL placekickers.
Varieties of Ether
On the relationship between rivalry and creativity.
What Termites Can Teach Us
Put a few termites into a petri dish and they wander around aimlessly; put in forty and they start stampeding around the dish’s perimeter like a herd. But put enough termites together, in the right conditions, and they will build you a cathedral.
Here Was a Plague
The AIDS crisis as it unfolded in America is an object lesson in the danger, the potential violence, inherent in organized prejudice.
The Right to Bear Arms (And Say Shocking Stuff on Facebook)
Christopher Daniels’ political beliefs got him in trouble. Though the FBI won’t comment, he is likely the first person ever imprisoned for being a “black identity extremist.”
The Disappeared
Police on Long Island wrote off missing immigrant teens as runaways. One mother knew better—and searched MS-13’s killing fields for answers.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Fire Season"
Two friends contend with mistakes both past and present.
How Auto-Tune Revolutionized the Sound of Popular Music
An in-depth history of the most important pop innovation of the last 20 years, from Cher’s “Believe” to Kanye West to Migos.
What Do We Owe Her Now?
Twelve years ago, Amber Wyatt reported her rape. Few believed her. Her hometown turned against her. The authorities failed her.
How Puerto Rico Became the Newest Tax Haven for the Super Rich
A year after the tragedy of Hurricane Maria, the 51st state has become the favorite playground for extremely wealthy Americans looking to keep their money from the taxman. The only catch? They have to cut all ties to the mainland (wink, wink).
Eli Saslow is a Pulitzer-winning feature writer for the Washington Post. His new book is Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist.
“If I'm writing about somebody once for 5,000 words in the Washington Post — someone who's addicted to drugs, say — I am choosing in the public eye where their story ends. Like, that's it. People aren't going to know any more. That's where I'm going to leave them being written about. And of course, that is inherently artificial — nothing ends, their life is continuing. This is just where the narrative ends. I recognize the weight in ways that maybe I didn’t before.”
Thanks to MailChimp, Outside the Box, Squarespace, and Pitt Writers for sponsoring this week's episode.
Henry
On parenting a sick child.
The Amazing Return of the Yabloner Rebbe
The story of one man’s encounter with fate.
Ballots and Bloodshed
The militarization of local politics in South Africa.
