The Wolves of K Street
On PredictIt, a site that allows you to bet on politics, and the people who are getting rich off it.
War of Words
In 2014, Russell Bonner Bentley was a middle-aged arborist living in Austin. Now he’s a local celebrity in a war-torn region of Ukraine—and a foot soldier in Russia’s information war.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "A Sliver of Blue Ocean"
A beached whale creates a ripple effect in a small fishing village.
Why Would Anyone Kayak Across an Ocean — at 70?
Aleksander Doba has spent a great deal of time alone, naked and blistered, aboard a very small boat in the middle of the ocean. It is his favorite thing to do.
Death in the Snow
In 2001, a young Japanese woman walked into the North Dakota woods and froze to death. Had she come in search of the $1 million dollars buried nearby in the film Fargo?
Nitasha Tiku is a senior writer at Wired.
“I’ve always been an incredibly nosy person—not nosy, curious. Curious about the world. It just gives you a license to ask any question, and hopefully if you have a willing editor, the freedom to see something fascinating and pursue it. It was just a natural fit from there. But that also means I don’t have the machismo, ‘breaking news’ sort of a thing. I feel like I can try on different hats, wherever I am.”
Thanks to MailChimp and Credible.com for sponsoring this week's episode.
Mother Earth Mother Board
A 42,000-word, 3-continent spanning “hacker tourist” account of the laying of the (then) longest wire on earth.
The Excessive Vision of Donatella Versace
How to run a fashion empire.
Why a Soccer Star Is Happy to Leave the Sport
Per Mertesacker walks away.
The Pain Refugees
What we get wrong about the opioid crisis.
Enlisting an Audience
How Hollywood peddles propaganda.
Michael Ferro Accused of Inappropriate Advances by Two Women
The executive and investor resigned from his position as Tronc chairman hours before the news.
The Last Days of Jerry Brown
A profile of California’s governor at the end of more than 40 years in public life.
How to Sell a Thought
How 88rising is making a place for Asians in hip-hop.
What Hope Hicks Knows
Why Donald Trump’s closest aide is leaving the White House.
Home
After the explosion of the Columbia shuttle in 2003, two American astronauts aboard the International Space Station suddenly found themselves with no ride home.
The Refugee Detectives
How Germany sorts people fleeing death from opportunists and pretenders.
The Cambridge Analytica Files: Meet the Data War Whistleblower
“I created Steve Bannon’s psychological warfare tool.”
Where in the Hell Is Our Cat?
Carol, who was out for a walk one afternoon, saw me marching around and shouted across the street: “YOU SURE WANT TO FIND THAT CAT!”
“YES,” I yelled back. “I SURE DO.”
Perfectly Boring
On William Eggleston’s The Red Ceiling and an unsolved murder.
Wikipedia: Action Park
Wikipedia entry for “Traction Park,” central New Jersey’s most dangerous mid-1980’s amusement park.
This Multibillion-Dollar Corporation Is Controlled by a Penniless Yoga Superstar
Baba Ramdev renounced the material world twenty-three years ago to become a Hindu ascetic. Now he’s on TV selling toothpaste, instant noodles, and toilet cleaners and the company he is believed to control is poised to become the biggest consumer goods seller in India.
How Russia's Eternal President Has Changed His Country
Russians will be going to the polls on March 18, but it is already clear who will emerge victorious. Vladimir Putin has been at the helm for almost 20 years – both dramatically changing his country and subjugating it at the same time.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Whiskey & Ribbons [Excerpt]"
Family dynamics both real and imagined.
#FreeMeekMill
A jailhouse interview.
