A Fighter’s Hour of Need
An account of the 60 minutes after a heavyweight fight at Madison Square Garden that left one boxer with permanent brain damage.
The Unlikely Revolutionary
A father’s search for meaning and justice five years after his son was killed during the Tahrir Square uprising.
Personal Observations on the Reliability of the Shuttle
“For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”
Six months after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, a member of the Presidential commission that investigated the crash presents his personal findings.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Sometimes You Break Their Hearts, Sometimes They Break Yours"
An undercover alien observes various human behaviors.
The Neurologist Who Hacked His Brain
Phil Kennedy set out to build the ultimate brain-computer interface. In the process, he almost lost his mind.
Ann Selzer Is the Best Pollster in Politics
The brains behind the uncannily accurate Des Moines Register poll.
Alex Perry, based in England, has covered Africa and Asia for Newsweek and Time. His most recent book is The Rift: A New Africa Breaks Free.
“I got a call from one of my editors in 2003 or 2004, and he said something like, ‘You realize someone has died in the first line of every story you’ve filed for the last eight months?’ And my response was, ‘Of course. Isn’t that how we know it’s important?’ It took me a long time to work out that the importance of a story isn’t established only by death.”
Thanks to MailChimp, </em>Feverborn</a>, and AlarmGrid for sponsoring this week's episode.</p>
Once Upon a Jihad
Life and death with the young and radicalized.
Huge News! The Penis Implant Is Here
The Los Angeles surgeon who can double your size for $13,000.
He's the Best
“On paper, [DJ Khaled] doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. He’s released eight full-length albums but doesn’t actually rap on any of them. He’s perhaps the most quoted figure in hip-hop, able to create viral catch phrases with an ease that marketing executives dream about. He’s played a serious role in the hip-hop industry throughout his career, yet he’s perceived almost exclusively as a meme by fans across the nation.”
The Day the Mesozoic Died
How a father and son solved the mystery of the dinosaurs’ demise.
The Wreck of Amtrak 188
The search for answers after the worst American rail disaster in decades.
Hillary Clinton Wants to Talk to You About Love and Kindness
It’s been 46 years since she gave her famous commencement address at Wellesley. What she was trying to say then—that politics is personal, that she believes in human connection above all else—she is trying to say again in 2016. Maybe she’s been trying to say it all along.
Jill Lepore on Longform
From the insanity of U.S. gun law to the history of management consulting, the politics of Planned Parenthood to Wonder Woman’s feminist past — our favorite articles by Jill Lepore.
Baby Doe
Government agencies have been trying to protect children for nearly 200 years. They are still failing.
Meet the Man Who Wants to be President, and Then Live Forever
A week on the campaign trail in the coffin-shaped Immortality Bus with Zoltan Istvan, the presidential candidate for the Transhumanist Party.
The Sex Machine
The rise of the king of American swingers.
Our Band Should Not Be Your Life
On the road with Quarterbacks, a young band at the bottom of the music industry.
The Epic Fail of Hollywood’s Hottest Algorithm
According to the trades and his pitch to investors, Ryan Kavanaugh had found film business formula that couldn’t lose. It could. Unraveling a Tinseltown Ponzi scheme.
The Dark Underside of the Show-Dog World
The mysterious death of a champion Irish setter.
"His Life Matters"
The story of Akai Gurley before he was killed by a New York City police officer.
Who Poisoned Flint, Michigan?
A writer returns home to find a toxic disaster, giant government failure, and countless children exposed to lead.
The Big Cow Con
Arno Smit bilked millions out of Tulare County dairy workers (and at least one wealthy widow). Then he disappeared.
14 Years a Fugitive: The Hunt for Ratko Mladić, the Butcher of Bosnia
A war criminal’s life on the run.
Why Is It So Difficult for Syrian Refugees to Get Into the U.S.?
More than 4 million Syrians have fled the war. 2,647 have made it to the United States.
