To Russia With Love
"For 20 beautiful years, my homeland was open and (kind of) free. Now, I fear, it’s closing back up."
Previously: Keith Gessen on the Longform Podcast.
Animal Instinct
How a group of vigilante cat-lovers seeking the hooded figure who suffocated a kitten in an internet video found a sadistic killer.
The Overprotected Kid
At a playground in North Wales, kids are mostly left alone to experiment with fire, jump from great heights and play in a creek. It’s designed to teach the value of taking risks, a lesson many American children have stopped learning.
Wu-Tang, Atomically
How the group’s 10 members live today.
The Inside Story of a Murderous Con Man
The author on how he was conned by Christian Gerhartsreiter, aka "Clark Rockefeller."
Excerpted from Blood Will Out.
My Dementia
“Telling who I am before I forget.”
The Scientific Quest to Prove Bisexuality Exists
How activists are using science to show that someone can be truly attracted to both a man and a woman.
The Town That Turned Poverty Into a Prison Sentence
In Harpersville, Alabama, a traffic violation can lead to months in jail and a never-ending stint in a work-release program – what some refer to as a modern-day debtors’ prison.
Sponsored
Sponsor: Texas Monthly's New, Epic Examination of a Haunting 31-Year-Old Murder Case
Our sponsor this week is Texas Monthly, which has just published a truly incredible piece of journalism. Michael Hall, whose work has appeared on Longform many times, spent a year investigating one of the most confounding criminal cases in Texas history. In the summer of 1982, three Waco teenagers were savagely murdered for no apparent reason. Four men were ultimately charged with the crime. One was executed, two others were given life sentences, and a fourth was sent to death row only to be released after six years. They all may have been innocent.
Over the next two weeks, Texas Monthly will serialize Hall's 25,000-word piece, "The Murder at the Lake," which looks at the case from five distinct perspectives. Part One is available now; you should read it.
Sabrina Rubin Erdely, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone, has also written for GQ, Philadelphia and SELF.
"I think that people are, by their nature, good and want to act rightly. So I'm very interested in why people do these things that result in really bad actions. My lack of outrage actually is one of the things that probably helps me in my reporting because I really am propelled by this pure curiosity. ... I just want to know, 'Where did that come from?'"
Thanks to TinyLetter and PillPack for sponsoring this week's episode.
The Devil and the Art Dealer
On the discovery of a billion dollars worth of artwork looted by Nazis in the cramped apartment of a Munich recluse.
Anatomy of a Commercial Interruption
A filmmaker goes to court to fight the television commercial break.
Dropped
Why did Anthony Gatto, the greatest juggler alive—and perhaps of all time—back away from his art to open a construction business?
Previously: Jason Fagone on the Longform Podcast.
Why Basketball Won’t Leave Phil Jackson Alone
On the coach’s battle with retirement.
The Secret World of Fast Fashion
How Korean immigrants in L.A. revolutionized fashion’s production cycle.
Inside the Milk Machine
“With the rise of factory farming, milk is now a most unnatural operation.”
Inside Baseball
The Giants' miraculous 1951 comeback wasn't all that it seemed.
Previously: The Longform Guide to Cheaters.
Hey Mama
A son interviews his mother about language and love in the South.
One More Time
Why we love repetition in music.
The Story Behind the Rob Ford Story
The unmuzzling of Canadian journalism.
A Brief History of the Corporation: 1600 to 2100
A story of boom and bust.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "The Headstrong Historian"
A mother defends her family lineage against disruption from envious cousins.
For a daily short story recommendation from our editors, check out Longform Fiction or follow @longformfiction on Twitter.
A Passage from Hong Kong
Notes from a month-long voyage on a massive container ship.
Kidnapped by Iran
Three Americans are held hostage in Iran for two years, much of it spent in solitary confinement.
Island of Secrets
Searching for the mysterious tree kangaroo in one of the most remote places on Earth.
