The Longform Guide to Pills
A collection of picks about the pills we swallow and the people who make them, take them and sell them.</p>
Eagle Scout. Idealist. Drug Trafficker?
To his friends and family, Ross Ulbricht was a compassionate, warm soul known for random acts of kindness. To the F.B.I., he was Dread Pirate Roberts, the mastermind behind the Silk Road who was willing to order hits to protect his black market operation.
Going the Distance
A profile of Barack Obama as he turns toward the finish line.
"Hoop Dreams": An Oral History
Twenty years after its premiere, the filmmakers and subjects look back at “the great American documentary.”
The Campaign That Rocked Washington
An unlikely bipartisan alliance attempts to get Yes into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
This Is What It’s Like to Be at War With Your Body
One man’s quest to have a healthy leg amputated.
Darkness in August
“There is only one given: On the afternoon of August 16, a 22-year-old from Australia named Christopher Lane, who had come to America to go to college and play baseball, went out running and, without warning or knowing why, was shot to death in Duncan.”
The Writer and the Puzzle: Richard Ben Cramer Couldn't Crack A-Rod
On the legendary journalist and the book he never finished.
Is This Thing On?
Why audio never goes viral.
Runner, Interrupted
What happens when a runner loses his feet?
The First 48 Makes Millions Off Imprisoning Innocents
What happened when 21-year-old Taiwan Smart became the target of both police and a reality TV show.
Here Comes Everybody
What accounts for the gender gap in literary criticism?
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.”
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Dr. V's Magical Putter
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.
Palace Intrigue
François Hollande campaigned as “Monsieur Normal,” but after taking office as France’s President, a single tweet exposed his twisted 20-year love triangle.
Why I Bought A House In Detroit For $500
“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.”
The Collateral Damage of a Teenager
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.
Sabre Rattler
How a rogue p.r. man pulled a fast one on professional hockey.
A Toast Story
“More than a café, the shop is a carpentered-together, ingenious mechanism—a specialized tool—designed to keep Carrelli tethered to herself.”
Death Dust
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.
A Dangerous Mind
The case of Gilberto Valle, “The Cannibal Cop,” and the line between criminal thoughts and action.
The White Ghetto
A report from Owsley County, Ky., the poorest county in America.
The Training Bras of Literature
Sweet Valley High and the enduring economic power of blond twins.
The Hunt for Mukhtar Ablyazov: Banker, Criminal, Fugitive, Victim?
Searching for the alleged Kazakh Bernie Madoff.
The Downfall of India's Kidney Kingpin
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.
