The Writer and the Puzzle: Richard Ben Cramer Couldn't Crack A-Rod
On the legendary journalist and the book he never finished.
On the legendary journalist and the book he never finished.
S.L. Price Sports Illustrated Jan 2014 25min Permalink
Why audio never goes viral.
Stan Alcorn Digg Jan 2014 25min Permalink
What happens when a runner loses his feet?
Frank Bures Runner's World Feb 2014 30min Permalink
What happened when 21-year-old Taiwan Smart became the target of both police and a reality TV show.
Terrence McCoy Miami New Times Jan 2014 20min Permalink
What accounts for the gender gap in literary criticism?
Miriam Markowitz The Nation Dec 2013 25min Permalink
George Saunders has written for The New Yorker and GQ. His latest collection of short stories is Tenth of December.
“Maybe you would understand your artistry to be: put me anywhere. I'll find human beings, I'll find human interest, I'll find literature. And I guess you could argue the weirder, or maybe the less explored the place, the better.”
Thanks to TinyLetter and Audible for sponsoring this week's episode. For a free audiobook of your choice, go to audiblepodcast.com/longform.
Jan 2014 Permalink
The very complicated life of Dr. Essay Anne Vanderbilt, who once built a very good golf club.
Update: Grantland has published a pair of responses to the reaction to this story, "What Grantland Got Wrong" by Christina Kahrl and "The Dr. V Story: A Letter From the Editor" by Bill Simmons.
Caleb Hannan Grantland Jan 2014 30min Permalink
François Hollande campaigned as “Monsieur Normal,” but after taking office as France’s President, a single tweet exposed his twisted 20-year love triangle.
Evgenia Peretz Vanity Fair Dec 2012 15min Permalink
“After college, as my friends left Michigan for better opportunities, I was determined to help fix this broken, chaotic city by building my own home in the middle of it. I was 23 years old.”
Drew Philp Buzzfeed Jan 2014 25min Permalink
What adolescence does to adolescents is nowhere near as brutal as what it does to their parents.
An excerpt from All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood.
Jennifer Senior New York Jan 2014 25min Permalink
How a rogue p.r. man pulled a fast one on professional hockey.
Alan Siegel Sports on Earth Jan 2014 15min Permalink
“More than a café, the shop is a carpentered-together, ingenious mechanism—a specialized tool—designed to keep Carrelli tethered to herself.”
John Gravois Pacific Standard Jan 2014 15min Permalink
It comes from the soil of the desert Southwest. Inhaled, it can cause incurable, even fatal illness. And, thanks to global warming, valley fever is spreading fast.
Dana Goodyear New Yorker Jan 2014 25min Permalink
The case of Gilberto Valle, “The Cannibal Cop,” and the line between criminal thoughts and action.
Robert Kolker New York Jan 2014 20min Permalink
A report from Owsley County, Ky., the poorest county in America.
Kevin D. Williamson National Review Jan 2014 20min Permalink
Sweet Valley High and the enduring economic power of blond twins.
Amy Benfer The Believer Jan 2004 25min Permalink
Searching for the alleged Kazakh Bernie Madoff.
Elliot Wilson Euromoney Jan 2014 Permalink
How a self-taught doctor from Delhi cornered the black market in kidneys, building one of the world’s most lucrative organ-trading rings, until it all came crashing down.
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee Discover Apr 2010 Permalink
An Israeli journalist’s six years of conversation with Ariel Sharon, who died Saturday.
Ari Shavit New Yorker Jan 2006 35min Permalink
An interview with Lorde.
Tavi Gevinson Rookie Jan 2014 1h45min Permalink
For centuries, a little town in Belgium has been treating the mentally ill. Why are its medieval methods so successful?
A profile of Shaun White.
Elizabeth Weil New York Times Magazine Jan 2014 25min Permalink
From her deathbed, the author’s mother revealed a secret she had kept for 60 years: her true love was not his father, but a man named Angus Zahrt. On his ensuing search for the full story.
David Dobbs The Atavist Magazine Jun 2011 45min Permalink
What baseball writers did during the steroid era.
Bryan Curtis Grantland Jan 2014 25min Permalink
Allegations of child sexual and Satanic ritual abuse overtake an Austin suburb.
Gary Cartwright Texas Monthly Apr 1994 55min Permalink