The Dean of Corruption
On Cecilia Chang, the St. John’s fundraiser who committed suicide after being convicted of fraud, and the university administrators who benefited from her crime.
Mad Max
A profile of Max Wade, a Marin County teenager on trial for stealing Guy Fieri’s Lamborghini and using it in the first drive-by in the history of Mill Valley, California.
Sun Myung Moon's Lost Eco-Utopia
Before he died, Sun Myung Moon, cult father to massive Unification Church (known better as the Moonies), sent 14 Japanese “national messiahs” deep into the Paraguayan jungle to build an utopian “ideal city.” Thirteen years later, the author catches a trading boat down river in search of their hidden town.
Head of the Dragon: The Rise of New Shanghai
Shanghai, in 1989 and 2013. Excerpted from A History of Future Cities.
The Runner
A profile of 101-year-old marathoner Fauja Singh.
Meet the World's Top NBA Gambler
Bob Voulgaris and his math prodigy sidekick attempt to create the perfect betting algorithm.
The Princess and the Trolls
How Adalia Rose, a six-year-old with an early-aging disorder called progeria, became both an Internet celebrity and the target of online vitriol.
When Brain Damage Unlocks the Genius Within
The science of acquired savant syndrome.
The Hanging
William Sparkman Jr., a census worker, was found hanging from a tree in rural Kentucky. He was naked, hands bound, with the letters “FED” written across his chest. Inside the investigation into how – and why – he died.
The Last Man Up
It was a 3-mile footrace. Thousands were in attendance. So how did Michael LeMaitre disappear?
The Armory Show at 100
Lessons from the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art.
Prison and the Poverty Trap
The enduring disadvantage of getting locked up.
Spirit Guide
Reinventing a once-great whisky distillery in Scotland.
Matthew Power is a freelance writer and contributing editor at Harper's.
"The kind of stories I've gotten to do have involved fulfilling my childhood fantasies of having an adventurous life. Even though I don't make a ton of money doing it, I've never felt like I was missing out on something. I haven't worked in an office since a two-week stint as a fact checker at House and Garden magazine in 2001, so that's 12 years, and I haven't starved to death yet."
Thanks to TinyLetter for sponsoring this week's episode!
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The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
Inside the battle for how America snacks.
Misguided Nostalgia for Our Paleo Past
How humans evolve in the modern world.
The Cold Arab Spring
Chasing the embers of hedonism in Morocco and Tunisia, as Salafi mobs and new regimes wash over the brothels, beaches, and nightclubs of what used to be the Arab world’s most liberal cities.
The Winners History of Rock and Roll
As mainstream rock declines and disappears from the radio, an examination of seven bands who were amongst the biggest of their respective eras.
Arianna’s Virtual Candidate
A profile of Michael Huffington.
Freakshow
Welcome to World of Wonder, the Hollywood production company that celebrates “outsiders, 16th-minute celebrities, conspiracy theorists, penis puppeteers, dictators, street hustlers, porn stars, hackers, homicidal club kids, gender deviants, furries, plushies, and Tori Spelling.”
Broken Shield
An investigation into police misconduct and the abuse of the disabled.
Arts Business Politics World Movies & TV
L’Étranger
France, wealth and the saga of tax exile Gérard Depardieu.
Death in Singapore
Authorities say an American electronics engineer committed suicide after working on a project involving a Chinese telecom giant. His family believes he was murdered.
Deep Inside: A Study of 10,000 Porn Stars and Their Careers
Applying big data analysis to Internet Adult Film Database, the IMDB of porn.
It’s 2013, And They’re Burning ‘Witches’
In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, admist a mining boom, the public torture and killing of women accused of sorcery has returned.
