A Famous Man
On writer James Agee.
From the Bowels of Hell
On “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez,who terrorized Los Angeles and San Francisco through a string of over 30 home invasion murders starting in 1984 and ending when he was recognized and apprehended by an angry mob.
Living With a Peacock
An essay on raising birds.
Welcome to Mogadishu
A portrait of the Somali capital.
Seasteading
On Ephemerisle, a “floating festival of radical self-reliance,” and other attempts at creating an island utopia.
Silent War
Tracing a secretive cyber-war’s battles and casualties.
The Prospect
Montaous Walton couldn’t throw, catch or hit. But he wanted to be a ballplayer. And with the help of the internet, the media, and an ambitious young agent, that’s what he briefly became.
The Amish Are Getting Fracked
Their religion prohibits lawsuits. The energy companies know it.
The Guilty Man
Twenty-six years after he was wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his wife, Michael Morton sees the real killer brought to justice in a Texas courthouse.
His Life as a Murder Suspect
The Yale professor suspected of murdering his student.
When the Beautiful Game Turns Ugly
A journey into the world of Italy’s racist soccer thugs.
Jonathan Abrams covers the NBA for Grantland.
"Players know that with the stories I do I'm not trying to burn anybody. I'm trying to tell a story for what it's worth and be honest to that person. ...That's one of my main goals, that you know why this person is [a certain] way when they step on the court. You know why Monta Ellis is going to keep shooting the ball. You know why Zach Randolph is such a gritty player. What these guys have gone through growing up, it materializes in their game."
Thanks to this week's sponsor, TinyLetter!
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Accidental Rewilding
How humanitarian disasters are good for nature.
The Pedal-to-the-Metal, Totally Illegal, Cross-Country Sprint for Glory
How to drive across America in less than 32 hours and 7 minutes.
Beyond Recognition
The story of a face transplant.
Maxed Out on Everest
On the dangerous glut of visitors looking to conquer Mt. Everest, where there is sometimes a two-hour wait to climb the Hillary Step.
The Deep State
A profile of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, prime minister of Turkey.
Dear Leader Dreams of Sushi
The odyssey of Kim Jong-il’s personal chef.
Encounters with the Posthuman
On artists using their bodies to blur the line between human and machine.
The Confidence Economy
An interview with T.J. Jackson Lears, historian of the “charlatans and hucksters of the Gilded Age, the cagey, conniving street peddlers of what we’d rather think was a premodern world.”
Arming Syria’s Rebellion
In a Turkish hotel, veterans of the Libyan Revolution meet with their fractured Syrian counterparts to transfer know-how and heavy weaponry.
The Gut-Wrenching Science Behind the World’s Hottest Peppers
A trip to a pepper-eating contest in remote India.
Colum McCann’s Radical Empathy
A profile of the writer.
Plus: An excerpt from McCann's new novel, TransAtlantic. (via Longform Fiction)
Women As Bosses
“Some companies are beginning to allow women to take their management-training courses. A woman sitting in on an executive conference is less of a shock to the male than she was only a few years ago. A few big companies–R.C.A., the Home Life Insurance Co., and the New York Central, for example–have even ushered women into the board room.”
