The Collapse
How a top law firm destroyed itself.
Failing the Fallen
There are 45,000 service members missing in action from WWII and other wars who experts say are recoverable. Last year, the U.S. brought home 60 of them.
The Face Behind Bitcoin
Is the anonymous, reclusive inventor of Bitcoin this 64-year-old man in Los Angeles?
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Sponsor: Have You Met OZY Yet?
Our sponsor this week is OZY, a news and culture site focused on the new and the next. OZY brings you up to speed on what happened in the last 24 hours and then vaults you ahead by telling you about new people, places, ideas and trends. It's the place to go to get a little smarter, a little sooner.
Here are three OZY favorites that give you an idea of who and what you'll find:
Carlos interviews David Drummond, Google's Chief Legal Officer and head of Google Ventures, who tells the little-known story of how Google almost went bankrupt.
Melissa covers how scientists are unlocking the secrets of cancer's ancient past by studying the archaeological record.
Pooja reminds us that John F. Kennedy's book A Nation of Immigrants is as relevant today as it was a half century ago.
Want more? Sign up for OZY emails and get stories like these every day that will help you see more, be more and do more.
Sixteen, Alone, 23 Hours a Day, in a Six-by-Eight-Foot Box
An investigation into the practice of putting teenagers in solitary confinement.
The Sanitary Pad Revolutionary
How a man of little education and little means invented a simple machine that changed the lives of women in rural India.
Jennifer Senior is a contributing editor at New York and the author of All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood.
"I've had moments in motherhood that have been close to something like religious. But I don't think social scientists say things like, "How many numinous moments have you had?" They don't do that, so you have to figure out what to do. I was suddenly turning to other texts to try and explain all of this."
Thanks to TinyLetter for sponsoring this week's episode.
Spies, Lies and Rape in the Air Force
Jane Neubauer was just out of basic training when a secretive military unit recruited her for an undercover mission. She and the Air Force disagree about what happened next.
Jennifer Lawrence And The History Of Cool Girls
How Hollywood falls for actresses who “act like a dude but look like a supermodel” – and then changes its mind.
A Boy Grew In Brooklyn
Memories of the old neighborhood, before everything changed.
The Unknown "Alex"
What we can learn from a secret comic strip.
Fire Behavior
What really happened in the West, Texas fertilizer plant explosion?
He's Still Chevy Chase (And You're Not)
The roast where Chevy Chase learned that everyone hates him.
My Life as a Writer
An interview with Philip Roth on his career, his critics, and his retirement, which he began by re-reading his 31 books to "see whether I’d wasted my time."
More from the Longform archive: writers on writing.
The Party Monster Lives for the Applause
A profile of former club kid Michael Alig, who is approaching release after serving 17 years in jail for murder.
The Secret Auden
W.H. Auden’s quiet, personal pursuit of kindness and honor.
Joe Biden in Winter
A profile of the vice president.
The Longform Guide to Cruises
A collection of stories about celebrity, debauchery and tragedy on the open seas.</p>
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Present Perfect"
Diary entries concerning innocent Americans abroad.
For a daily short story recommendation from our editors, check out Longform Fiction or follow @longformfiction on Twitter.
Notes On "Camp"
“Indeed the essence of Camp is its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration. And Camp is esoteric—something of a private code, a badge of identity even, among small urban cliques.”
Downfall
The undoing of Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, who resigned in January amidst multiple swirling scandals.
An Unthinkably Modern Miracle
The author gets a crash course in health care pricing after having his urethra fixed.
The Best Little Magazine Party in Texas
Headed to Austin for SXSW? Come to a live taping of the Longform Podcast with special guests Pamela Colloff, Mimi Swartz and Lawrence Wright, followed by a party with Texas Monthly, ASME and The Atavist. Saturday, March 8, 4-9 p.m. Free, RSVP.</p>
The Last, Disposable Action Hero
In Hollywood’s new blockbuster economy, the actors who portray superheroes are as interchangeable as the costumes they wear.
The Doctor and the Saint
An essay on BR Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi and the battle against caste in India.
