The Elmore Leonard Story
How the prolific crime novelist did his work.
“If You Start From the Premise of Refusing to Be An Asshole, Then a Lot of Other Decisions Kind of Make Themselves.”
An interview with Steve Albini on art, commerce, and ethic.
An American Void
A trailer and the people who lived with Dylann Roof in it before he killed nine people in a Charleston church.
A Dying Young Woman’s Hope in Cryonics and a Future
Kim Suozzi, who died at 23, chose to have her brain preserved for future revival. It’s not as far-fetched a prospect as you’d think.
Mike Nichols’s Life and Career
An oral history.
Homo Naledi
The discovery of a new human ancestor, hidden in a hard-to-access cave.
Slipping Away
Jo Aubin has Alzheimer’s. He’s 38.
A Prescription for More Black Doctors
The struggles of Xavier University, a tiny, historically-black school in New Orleans, to train students for medical school.
The More I Learn About Breast Milk, the More Amazed I Am
On the magic of mother’s milk, which changes daily to meet the baby’s needs and can even start fighting an infection before anyone knows the kid is sick.
Murder Most Yale
No one knew how Suzanne Jovin ended up in a wealthy neighborhood away from Yale’s campus in New Haven, or why she was brutally stabbed on the sidewalk, apparently by someone she knew. The only suspect that police named was her thesis advisor.
Sheldon Adelson Is Ready to Buy the Presidency
The only question is which Republican will benefit from his largesse.
One Lawyer’s Crusade to Defend Extreme Pornography
Meet Britain’s “Batman of obscenity.”
The War on Women Is Over -- And Women Lost
Incremental changes in abortion laws lead to a system where women “turn themselves into pretzels” just to find a doctor.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Stay A While"
An elderly woman renovates her basement for renters and discovers uncomfortable truths about herself.
The Siege of Herbalife
Activist investor Bill Ackman set out to destroy the multilevel marketing company. But did he wind up helping it succeed instead?
The Cops That Would Save a Country
Creating a new, clean police force in the Ukraine.
The Messengers
Talking about hope and the environment with a photographer who takes pictures of birds killed by plastic.
Margo Jefferson, a Pulitzer Prize winner, has written for The New York Times, Newsweek, and Harper's. Her latest book is Negroland: A Memoir.
“One of the problems with—burdens of—‘race conversations’ in this country is certain ideological, political, sociological narratives keep getting imposed. This is where the conversation should go, these are the roles we need. In a way, this is the comfort level of my discomfort. ... Maybe we’re all somewhat addicted—I think we are—to certain racial conversations, with their limitations and their conventions.”
Thanks to MailChimp and Casper for sponsoring this week's episode.
Spygate to Deflategate
Roger Goodell, the Patriots and one huge “makeup call.”
Fear
On America, Christianity, and “ignorance, intolerance, and belligerent nationalism.”
Venus and Serena Against the World
The liberation of the Williams sisters.
Whatsoever Things Are True
Thirty-three years ago, a Chicago man was sentenced to death for murder. In 1999, another man confessed to the crime. Today, they are both free.
China’s Funeral Revolutionaries
Two men try to disrupt the gray market of Chinese death services.
The Cold War
Relations between two ice cream vendors in Oregon turn nasty.
You'll Never Power-Lunch in This Town Again
The Four Seasons restaurant rose to fame as a place to cut deals and be seen. Then its chauvinistic ways – and, specifically, those of its owner – caught up with it.
