A Pinot Noir
On the trail of a group of thieves stealing the fanciest wine out of San Francisco’s fanciest restaurants.
The Boy Who Burned Inside
After years of sexual abuse by a neighbor, a teenager takes matters into his own hands.
Living in a Trailer
On touring America and the culture of trailer parks in the early 1950s.
House of Secrets
On Witanhurst, the dilapidated London mansion whose ownership is cloaked in mystery.
"We Learned Together"
A support group for trans veterans meets in New Orleans, linked to the only VA that is known to treat them with respect.
In Sanaa
The Houthi coup in Yemen.
How We’re Failing Our Female Veterans
From equipment that doesn’t fit to an ill-equipped VA medical system.
The War on Big Food
How packaged-food companies like Campbell and Hershey are responding to the backlash against pesticides, preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, growth hormones, antibiotics, gluten, and genetically modified organisms.
Crossover Potential
A mortuary employee surveys her scene.
The Star on the Sidewalk
On Arielle Holmes, a burgeoning actress who was, literally, plucked from the streets.
The Government Won’t Let Me Watch Them Kill Bison, so I’m Suing
One man’s quest to witness the “Bison Cull” in Yellowstone National Park.
Can China Take a Joke?
The culturally-bound mechanics of comedy.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "A Friendly Game"
A story of growth, regression, and divergent paths.
"But mostly, Joan sat for hours in her favorite spot of their old living room couch where she breastfed Phil. It felt sometimes like he was resting in the crook of her arm. And other times, her breasts would drip milk and she’d sit with a throbbing ache in her chest. Her husband returned twice a week, a different person each time as if trying on new identities: laughing, angry, sedate, stoic. Sometimes he brought the rocks with him. Sometimes Joan would have to go out on her own looking for them."
This Is What Happens After You Die
The process of decomposition, recounted in painstaking detail.
What Makes the "Lion Whisperer" Roar?
On spending your life among large felines.
Reversal of Fortune
A BASE jumper emerges from a coma after a bad fall and sets about rebuilding his body and his life.
Sarah Maslin Nir, a reporter for The New York Times, recently published an exposé of labor practices in the nail salons of New York.
“The idea of a discount luxury is an oxymoron. And it’s an oxymoron for a reason: because someone is bearing the cost of that discount. In nail salons it’s always the person doing your nails, my investigation found. That has put a new lens on the world for me.”
Thanks to TinyLetter, Trunk Club, and Aspiration for sponsoring this week's episode.
The Longform Guide to David Letterman
From his early days in Indiana to his exit interview after 33 years in late night, a David Letterman reading list.</p>
Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade?
A controversial effort divides students by race in order to combat racism.
Inexplicable Crime
On the psychology of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik.
Judy Blume Knows All Your Secrets
“She has no theories, for example, to explain why she, of all people, felt unburdened by the unspoken rules marking certain subjects off limits for children, or why, for that matter, she has that particular gift, that ability to recall the emotional experiences of adolescence, the confusion, the longing, the rivalries — the memories, in other words, that most of us try to bury as quickly and deeply as we can.”
The Untold Story of ILM
An oral history of Industrial Lights & Magic, which gave birth to Star Wars and countless films, as well as playing a hand in the creation of Photoshop and Pixar.
72-Hour Party People
In an upscale Denver condo, twice-a-month they convened from Thursday to Sunday with 95 percent-pure Shabu.
The Gang’s All Here
The Bandidos, Texas’s biggest motorcycle gang, say goodbye to one of their own.
To Have and to Hold
Sex, the Constitution, and the Supreme Court.
