Chasing the Sun
The extraordinary story of two Pacific voyages of discovery a thousand years apart.
‘Floyd was my man. But George Floyd is a movement.’
The private grief of Courteney Ross, George Floyd’s girlfriend.
Brooke Jarvis is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine.
“Obsession is inherently interesting. We want to know why somebody would care so much about something that it could direct their whole life. ... When people care about something a lot, what can be more interesting than that to understand what drives those powerful emotions? ... Part of why I do this work is that I am able to get temporarily obsessed with a lot of different things and then move on to the next thing that I'm temporarily obsessed with. ... There's always a new question that I want to follow.”
Thanks to Mailchimp for sponsoring this week's episode.
TikTok and the Vibes Revival
Increasingly, what we’re after on social media is not narrative or personality but moments of audiovisual eloquence.
The Secrets of the World's Greatest Jailbreak Artist
Rédoine Faïd loved the movies, and his greatest crimes were laced with tributes: to Point Break, Heat, and Reservoir Dogs. When he landed in a maximum-security prison, cinema provided inspiration once again.
The Great Right Hype
Tucker Carlson: The bow-tie is gone, but the moxie remains.
The Fort Bragg Murders
At least 44 Fort Bragg soldiers died stateside in 2020—several of them were homicides. Families want answers. But the Army isn’t giving any.
The Last Days of Satoshi
Ten years ago, Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s disappeared.
Make Me an Offer
Ari Emanuel, Hollywood’s most tenacious agent, tries to remake himself as a mogul.
“Assistance Not Approved”
Her home still wrecked months after a freak storm, an Iowa woman’s FEMA ordeal presages the turmoil ahead as climate disasters worsen.
In the Tales Told by Sewage, Public Health and Privacy Collide
Sewage epidemiology has been embraced in other countries for decades, but not in America. Will Covid change that?
The End of the Road: Nomadland, My Mother, and the Frontier's Broken Promise
On vandwelling in the wake of the Great Recession.
The Search for a Ranger Who Was Lost and Never Found
Park ranger Paul Fugate vanished on an Arizona trail more than forty years ago. Investigators are still looking for him.
The Tragedy of Harry Uzoka
He was a shining star of a tight-knit group of rising Black male models in London. Why did he die at the hands of another model?
The Wild Frontier of Animal Welfare
Should humans try harder to protect even wild creatures from predators and disease? Should we care whether they live good lives? Some philosophers and scientists have an unorthodox answer.
Michael Grabell and Bernice Yeung are investigative reporters at ProPublica. They won the George Polk Award for Health Reporting for their coverage of the meatpacking industry's response to the pandemic, including their feature "The Battle for Waterloo."
This is final part of a week-long series of conversations with winners of this year's George Polk Awards in Journalism.
Scott Rudin, As Told by His Assistants
A portrait of a toxic workplace.
The Man Who Stole a Hotel
A fugitive from the US started fresh on Vancouver Island—then bilked new victims out of millions of dollars while law enforcement refused to act.
Living Nonbinary in a Binary Sports World
While many trans athletes have become political lightning rods, nonbinary people like Layshia Clarendon are left out of the conversation. In a sex-segregated sports world, where do they fit in?
Dirty Dollars
Accused money launderers left a path of bankrupt factories, shuttered buildings, and hundreds of steelworkers out of jobs.
Roberto Ferdman is a correspondent at VICE News. He and his colleagues at VICE News Tonight won the George Polk Award for Television Reporting for their coverage of the killing of Breonna Taylor and the investigations that followed.
This is part four in a week-long series of conversations with winners of this year's George Polk Awards in Journalism.
Federer as Religious Experience
On the joy of watching Roger play live at Wimbledon.
Helen Branswell is an infectious disease and global health reporter for STAT. She won this year's George Polk Award for Public Service for her coverage of the pandemic.
This is the third in a week-long series of conversations with winners of this year's George Polk Awards in Journalism.
“I Felt Hate More Than Anything”: How an Active Duty Airman Tried to Start a Civil War
Steven Carrillo’s path to the Boogaloo Bois shows the hate group is far more organized and dangerous than previously known.
The ‘Herald Square Bomber’ Who Wasn’t
After 9/11, U.S. authorities used informants to secure hundreds of terror convictions. But did they help create plots where none existed?
