This Is Amazing!
A profile of Huell Howser, the happiest man on TV.
Panic in Jerusalem
A community says its children are being targeted by a group of pedophiles. But did widespread sexual abuse actually take place?
A Triumph of the Comic-Book Novel
A consideration of Chris Ware.
Questions Concerning the Murder of Benazir Bhutto
An inquiry into the assassination of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister.
Still Richard
Richard Simmons at 64, sweatin’ to the oldies (and country and disco) thrice weekly.
Mike Sager, writer-at-large for Esquire and founder of The Sager Group.
"I was instilled with this thing by my parents who loved me — they fucked me up plenty but they loved the shit out of me — where I can go with people who are different and I don't feel bad about myself. I've had 13-year-old pit-bull fighting kids shame me horribly...throw pebbles at my head, and it doesn't bother me. Because when I'm a reporter, I'm not me. I'm just there to get the job done and learn stuff. I don't take it personally. Plus, I know I'm going to get the last word."
Thanks to TinyLetter for sponsoring this week's episode!
Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?
A species of jellyfish that can transform itself back to a polyp at any time appears to debunk the most fundamental law of the natural world — you are born, and then you die.
"I Pretty Much Wanted to Die"
The many reasons Lost shouldn’t have happened.
The Coldscape
Our entire way of life depends upon the “cold chain,” the network of artificially refrigerated spaces that have reshaped the modern world.
The Internet's Best Terrible Person Goes to Jail
A master troll on trial in New Jersey.
Learning to Accept, and Master, a $110,000 Mechanical Arm
“Suddenly, he had to ask for help with buttons, zippers and shoelaces. And he loathes asking for help.”
Miles from Nowhere
In 1968, the author revisits remote British Columbia, which he traveled two years earlier.
The Riddler
A profile of Henry Hook, crossword puzzle master.
The Thing With Feathers
The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker was extinct. Then it wasn’t. The story of an uncertain resurrection.
The Truce on Drugs
In Colorado and beyond, a negotiated surrender in the war on drugs.
The Killing of Gus Hasford
He came home from Vietnam, wrote the novel that became Full Metal Jacket, was nominated for an Oscar and riding high. Then he got thrown in jail for stockpiling stolen library books, started drinking, cut off his friends and fled to a remote Greek island. He never made it back.
On the Lam in Lebanon
The Syrian civil war crosses into Lebanon.
Larry Hagman's Curtain Call
A profile of the late actor.
Time, and the Great Healer
In 1943, a young research scientist found a cure for TB. It should have been the proudest moment of Albert Schatz’s life, but ever since he has watched, helpless, as his mentor got all the credit.
Re-Awakenings
How a woman who couldn’t stop sleeping woke up.
A Complete History of Gerbiling So Far
Richard Gere, AIDS anxiety and the search for the “Original Gerbil.”
The Hard Life of an NFL Long Shot
The story of a rookie clinging to his dream, as told by his uncle.
The Lying Disease
On an affliction for the digital age, “Munchausen by internet.”
Damien Hirst: Jumping the Shark
The market for Hirst’s work is in a tailspin. Why?
Dr. Nakamats, the Man With 3300 Patents to His Name
A profile of Sir Dr. NakaMats, who claims to have invented over 3,000 things, including the floppy disk and karaoke machine.
