The Case of the Bank-Robbing Prostitutes
How a struggling comedian became a pimp who eventually started sending teenage hookers on bank robbery missions that earned them notoriety as the “Starlet Bandits.”
Amy Harmon, a Pulitzer Prize winner, covers the intersection of science and society for the New York Times.
"I'm not looking to expose science as problematic and I'm not looking to celebrate it. But it can be double edged. Genetic knowledge can certainly be double edged. Often the science outpaces where our culture is in terms of grappling with it, with the implications of it. Part of the reason for this widespread fear about GMOs is people don't understand what it is. I'm looking for an emotional way or a vehicle through which to get people to read about it. It's an excuse to talk about the science, not just explain it. … My contribution, what I can do, is try to tell a story that will engage people in the story and then they'll realize at the end that they learned a little bit about the science."
Thanks to TinyLetter and Squarespace for sponsoring this week's episode.
The Jockey
A profile of Russell Baze, the winningest jockey in American history.
Where Hip-hop Lives
The turf wars at New York City’s hip hop station, Hot 97.
The Poorest Rich Kids in the World
Georgia and Patterson Inman, 15-year-old twins, are the only living heirs to the $1 billion Duke tobacco fortune. They are also emotional wrecks, tortured by a hellacious childhood in which they were raised by drug addicts and left to fend for themselves in mansions across the country.
How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets
A profile of documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, who last January received “a curious e-mail from an anonymous stranger requesting her public encryption key.”
How Athletes Get Great
An interview on nature vs. nurture with the author of The Sports Gene: Inside the Science Of Extraordinary Athletic Performance.
The Men Who Want AIDS—and How It Improved Their Lives
The benefits of getting sick in New York.
Bloodlines
How the heir to a horse racing empire became an informant on the Zetas cartel as they pushed their money laundering operations into the lucrative quarter horse trade.
Journey Through Morocco
Departing Marrakech by car with a plan to record music for the Library of Congress.
Deconstructing Harry
The drunken genius of Harry Nilsson, the American Beatle.
Call Him Money: Eddie Murphy Opens Up
An interview with Murphy at the apex of his power, just before the release of Harlem Nights.
The Weather God of Oklahoma City
“You know a storm is going to be bad, people in Oklahoma will tell you, when Gary England removes his jacket.” A profile of a meteorologist who has worked Tornado Alley for more than 40 years.
Nothing Like Being Scared
The life, work, and early death of writer Shirley Jackson.
Scandals of Classic Hollywood: The Ecstasy of Hedy Lamarr
“Let me say that again: Hedy Lamarr, arguably the most glamorous star of the pre-war period, also helped invent your cell phone and WiFi connection.”
Lesbian Nation
On the lesbian separatists of the 1970s, who “created a shadow society devoted to living in an alternate, penisless reality.”
'You're Done Banging Superheroes, Baby'
Meet Mark Millar, the brains behind our era’s most violent, ingenious comics.
Will Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley Finally Get It Right?
A startup’s rocky search for profitability.
Death of A Ballplayer
Billy Dillon was about to sign a contract with the Detroit Tigers. Instead he was convicted–wrongly–of first-degree murder and spent the next 27 years in prison.
Boys and Girls
On the attempt to rehabilitate Afghanistan’s child jihadis.
The Wizard Of Kabul
How a Peace Corps volunteer turned a high school basketball squad into Afghanistan’s national team.
Sean Flynn is a GQ correspondent and National Magazine Award winner.
"I find it satisfying to be able to give a voice to people that sort of get lost…You know, when these big horrible things happen, and the spotlight is very briefly on them, and then it moves away, and it's not that I'm dragging them out and forcing them to 'Relive your horrible moments!' It's more a thing of, 'If you'd like to relive your horrible moment, if you want people to know what actually happened, talk to me. I will tell your story.'"
Thanks to TinyLetter and the The Literary Reportage concentration at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute for sponsoring this week's episode.
The Opt-Out Generation Wants Back In
Women who left their careers to be stay-at-home mothers reflect on the decision ten years later.
The Confessions of Innocent Men
Unpacking a false confession 20 years later.
E. B. White: The Art of the Essay No. 1
An interview on craft.
