The Explosive, Inside Story of How John Kerry Built an Israel-Palestine Peace Plan—and Watched It Crumble
“You Palestinians can never see the fucking big picture.”
Islands in the Stream
An ode to the Bee Gees' strange, successful career.
Rachel Kaadzi Ghansah has written for The Believer, The LA Review of Books, Transition and The Paris Review. "If He Hollers Let Him Go," her essay on Dave Chappelle, was a 2014 National Magazine Award finalist.
"So the stakes are high. I’m not just writing this to write. I’m writing because I think there’s something I need to say. And there’s something that needs to be said. ... What I hope is that a young kid or an older person will see that you have choices, that you don't have to accept what people hand to you. That you have control."
Thanks to TinyLetter for sponsoring this week's episode.
Celebrity Rabbi, Heal Thyself
Who is Shmuley Boteach, former reality TV star and author of Kosher Sex?
You Are Now Entering the Demented Kingdom of William T. Vollmann
A profile of author William T. Vollmann.
The Unbelievable Life and Death of Michael C. Ruppert
The lonely death of a godfather of the conspiracy theory movement.
Our Favorite Serial Killer Articles
From the Longform archive, more than 30 picks on Charles Manson, the Son of Sam, Ted Bundy and more.</p>
The Marquise de Brinvilliers
On Marie-Madeline Marguerite, a 1600s French serial killer.
This is the second installment in The Hairpin's "Lady Killers" series. Previously: "The Blood Countess."</em></p>
The Fasinatng … Frustrating … Fascinating History of Autocorrect
From Word to smartphones.
Dreams Incorporated
Living the Amway life.
Our 25 Favorite Unlocked New Yorker Articles
The New Yorker has lifted its paywall on stories published since 2007. The following picks are available free for the first time.
Kanye West: A Brand-New Ye
“Like they said in Step Brothers: Never lose your dinosaur. This is the ultimate example of a person never losing his dinosaur. Meaning that even as I grew in cultural awareness and respect and was put higher in the class system in some way for being this musician, I never lost my dinosaur.”
Survivor No. 3
A day after swimming in an Arkansas water park, Kali Harding was diagnosed with a brain-eating amoeba that kills 99% of the people infects. This is the story of how she survived.
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“Where Did You Come From? How Did You Get Here?”
Saturday marked the 25th anniversary of the horrific crash of Flight 232 in Sioux City, Iowa. The plane burst into flames, then into pieces. Nobody was expected to survive. Somehow, 184 people did.
Excerpted from Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival.
Sana'a
A trip to the capital of Yemen.
Awakening the Giant
Y.A. Tittle, an 87-year-old Hall of Fame quarterback with dementia, travels to his hometown for the last time.
Tempest in a Test Tube
Inside a high-profile Hollywood child custody battle.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "An Object in Motion"
A child’s hobby transforms slowly into a grown man’s obsessive project.
For a daily short story recommendation from our editors, try Longform Fiction or follow @longformfiction on Twitter.
Pitchman
Tom Emanski changed the sport of baseball, his iconic instructional videos a mainstay on ESPN. Then he disappeared.
The Weird, Scary and Ingenious Brain of Maria Bamford
A profile of “America’s most vulnerable comedian.”
One of a Kind
When a child has a condition that’s new to science.
Get Rich or Die Shilling
The business of being Pitbull.
How I Became a Knausgaard Truther
Untangling the legend of “Knausgaard-free days.”
Camp Lejeune and the U.S. Military's Polluted Legacy
How the Pentagon makes “Koch Industries look like an organic farm” when it comes to toxic water contamination.
The Forgotten Internment
During World War II, the indigenous Aleut people were forced into camps. 10% died.
