“I See Everything Through This Tragedy”
An essay on “how we ignore the long-term effects of violence on children, adults and our communities.”
Out of Sight
A former prostitute turned arctivist and her taxi-driver husband go undercover in Iraq’s brothels.
"They Were Torturing to Kill"
The photographs that Caesar, a Syrian military photographer, smuggled out of Assad’s death dungeons.
Hard to Kill
An oral history of Gucci Mane’s many rises and falls.
The Amazing Inner Lives of Animals
Dolphins may have the capacity for mourning, and elephants sometimes bury their dead.
Nik Wallenda Is Above It All
The life of a high-wire impresario.
Blank Space
The most successful songwriter of the last twenty years is a forty-four year old Swede, Max Martin.
A Criminal Mind
Dr. Joel Dreyer was a respected psychiatrist. Then he took a sudden turn to a life of drug dealing. Medicine might be able to explain why.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Like Home"
A band's tour problems range from bedbugs to internal strife.
Stud: How to Have 106 Babies (and Counting)
Ed Houben, a self described “ugly man,” has sex with multiple women each week, sometimes two in one day. The women, often accompanied by their husbands, are trying to get pregnant.
The Search for Blind Lemon
The producer of Big Star’s Third and piano player on ‘Wild Horses’ recounts a life of music in Memphis.
Something Borrowed
The adventures and controversies of the avant-garde poet Kenneth Goldsmith, who believes plagiarism is an art form.
Meet the American Vigilantes Who Are Fighting ISIS
The ragtag group of fighters from America and Europe who joined the fight against extremists in Syria don’t seem to know what they are doing.
Ina Garten Does It Herself
A map of the Queen of Cookbooks’ rise to power.
Jessica Hopper is editor-in-chief of the Pitchfork Review and the author of The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic.
“I have an agenda. You can’t read my writing and not know that I have a staunch fucking agenda at all times.”
Thanks to MailChimp, Blue Apron, and Fracture for sponsoring this week's episode.
The IKEA Attack
Tracking the slayings that shocked Sweden.
The Real Story of Sandy Hill Pittman, Everest’s Socialite Climber
Controversy following a climbing disaster that killed eight.
Business Outsider
A profile of Business Insider CEO and editor-in-chief Henry Blodget.
The Museum of Menstruation
The Maryland man who houses antique feminine hygiene products.
Sneaker Wars
Inside the paranoid world of Nike headquarters, where people are worried that Adidas might finally be capable of taking over the sneaker industry.
"They Told Me It Never Happened"
The police told Lara McLeod to report her rape. Then they arrested her for lying.
A Daughter's Death
The murder of Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy in the Harlem projects.
The Girl King of Boylesque
Hanging out with the Atomic Bombshells in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
What Will I Hear When My Ears Stop Working?
On going deaf as a result of Ménière’s Disease.
The Deadliest Day
Surviving the earthquake in Nepal – on Mount Everest.
