Longform

A sumo wrestling tournament. A failed coup ending in seppuku. A search for a forgotten man. How one writer’s trip to Japan became a journey through oblivion.

On Nigeria’s citizen vigilantes who’ve banded together to fight Islamist terrorists.

Vivien Thomas was paid a janitor’s wage, never went to college, and still became a legend in the field of heart surgery.

A profile of law professor Dan Kahan, “one of the best-known unknown academics in the country,” who wants to close the communication gap between scientists and the public.

Fifty years later, the men who stole priceless gems from the Museum of Natural History recall the crime.

What the Chinese education system can teach America about relying on test scores as the main metric of success.

The story, so far, of First Look Media.

Witnessing one of deadliest landslides in American history.

A profile of Chris Rock as he makes one last attempt to jump from standup to leading man.

George Spahn and his California ranch, before and after the Manson family showed up.

The strange case of Kip Litton, road race fraud.

The author on why he belives in God (“It makes things better”), the perils of writing high (“Annie Wilkes is cocaine, she was my number-one fan”) and what he thinks of other writers (“Hemingway sucks, basically”).

A judge on the history and injustice of the plea bargain in America.

A story of bird and human patterns.

Ted Ngoy overcame poverty and escaped genocide, made a fortune off doughnuts and gambled it all away. Now he’s back on top, with hundreds of shops in California, but under attack from Dunkin’ Donuts.

Is Vemma an energy drink, the new Amway or a pyramid scheme taking advantage of college kids? Maybe all three.

The Interstellar director and the art of the blockbuster cult film.

The thin moral line between collecting and stealing plants.

To save himself, a basketball recruit testified against his mother.

Today we're thrilled to announce our first Longform App Exclusive! One of the best articles of 2014 is now available completely free, only in the Longform App.

In "The Trials of White Boy Rick," a Kindle Single bestseller, Evan Hughes tells the incredible story of Rick Wershe. An infamous teenage drug dealer in 1980s Detroit who flew in kilos of cocaine from Miami and drove a white Jeep with THE SNOWMAN emblazoned on the back, Wershe was arrested at 17 and remains incarcerated. But he now claims he was working with the FBI all along. Was one of Detroit’s most notorious criminals also one of the feds’ most valuable informants?

Everyone at Longform has read this story and we can say with complete confidence: you'll love it. It's a frontrunner for our Best of 2014 list, an epic tale you can't put down. We'll be bringing you many more Longform App Exclusives, but we couldn't have started with a better pick. And it's 100% totally free, only in the Longform App.

Download the app today.

The mystery of a death in Dallas.