The Attempted Remaking of Michael Grimm
On the trail with the convicted felon and would-be Mini Trump.
A Princess, a Poisoning and an Oil Fortune
The bizarre corruption scandal at Bilfinger International.
Jonathan Franzen Is Fine with All of It
He wants you to know one thing: He’s not even angry.
The Neuroscience of Pain
Discovering why we hurt.
Disposable America
A history of modern capitalism from the perspective of the straw.
Where Is Barack Obama?
“In fact, in private conversations, Obama rarely mentions Trump at all. Those who’ve visited the office he’s leased from the World Wildlife Fund in Washington’s West End say he’s eager to talk for hours about the world’s ills. When informed about the latest presidential tweetstorms aimed at him, he chuckles and changes the subject. One friend of Obama’s recalled that after a 45-minute meeting that avoided the subject of Trump entirely, the pair ducked into an aide’s office and saw on television that the president was claiming to have been absolved in the Russia inquiry. Obama’s eyes flicked toward the chyron and his face took on a decidedly bemused aspect for a beat before he turned back to their conversation as if nothing had happened.”
Targeted
What if your son’s school thinks he might be a potential school shooter?
How I Broke, and Botched, the Brandon Teena Story
The original writer of the Village Voice story that inspired “Boys Don’t Cry” looks back on her reporting—and the huge error she still regrets.
The Legend of Nintendo
How the 130-year-old game company bounced back with the Switch.
Code Red
Organizing the tech sector.
The Strange and Mysterious Death of Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis
How Jerry Lee Lewis got away with murdering 25-year-old Shawn Michelle Stevens, his fifth wife.
Stephen A. Smith Won’t Stop Talking
“The job is to be enough of a personality that they want to know what you think.”
A Rattle with Death in Yosemite
The author survives a bite by a venomous snake in a remote area of Yosemite National Park.
My leg, from toe to hip, turned black and yellow and eventually swelled to 24 inches, more than twice its normal circumference.
The Mission to Build the Ultimate Burger Bot
Alex Vardakostas has been on a decade-long quest to build a robot that can prepare the perfect cheeseburger. It could also put his family out of work.
Joe and the Whale
Joe Howlett gave his life to save an animal that may already be past the point of no return. After ten centuries of annihilation, is there any way to undo the damage done?
How the Case for Voter Fraud Was Tested — and Utterly Failed
From a new Supreme Court ruling to a census question about citizenship, the campaign against illegal registration is thriving. But when the top proponent was challenged in a Kansas courtroom to prove that such fraud is rampant, the claims went up in smoke.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Sakura Trip"
A young lesbian poet's confused love.
The Real Story of Donald Trump Jr.
Junior’s personal life is in shambles, Robert Mueller looms large, and it’s never been trickier to be the president’s son.
The Trouble With Johnny Depp
How a Hollywood icon found himself at a dead end.
The Endling: Watching a Species Vanish in Real Time
On the frontlines of extinction in the Gulf of California, where the vaquita faces its final days.
The Last Days of Marc-André Leclerc
He was the best alpinist of his generation, a quiet, unassuming Canadian known for bold ascents of some of the world’s most iconic peaks. Four months ago, at the age of 25, he traveled to Alaska to join climber Ryan Johnson for a first ascent outside Juneau. They never came back.
Is This Man A Victim?
Maine adopted Kenyan runner Moninda Marube as a symbol of human trafficking’s invisible casualties. But a close look at his case raises hard questions — and illustrates the challenge of investigating and prosecuting trafficking crimes.
Helen Rosner is a food correspondent at The New Yorker.
“I believe the things that are really important to me are structure over all and—forgive me, I’ve said this on other podcasts before—if I were going to get a tattoo this is what I would get a tattoo of is that it doesn’t matter what you say, it only matters what they hear. It’s my job to make sure the gulf between those two things is as narrow as possible and there’s as little ambiguity between what I say and what you hear. It’s never easy, but it’s certainly easier in the realm of arguable objectivity. To create emotion in a reader requires a huge amount of really thoughtful work on the part of the writer in a way that forces you as a writer to remove yourself from the emotion you’re creating in the reader. If I to set you up for sadness, I have to create emotional stakes. I have to create investment in whoever I’m talking about or whatever the story’s about. The craft of making stakes and setting up a potential downfall, a potential loss, whatever it may be I think is not something you can do well if you’re feeling the feeling you’re trying to create in the reader.”
Thanks to MailChimp, Read This Summer, and You Can't Make This Up for sponsoring this week's episode. Also: very rare, very exclusive Longform Podcast t-shirts are still available!
The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company
What happened at OneTaste?
Lies, China, And Putin
Solving the mystery of Wilbur Ross’ missing fortune.
