Lula's Brazil
A 12,000-word profile of recently departed Brazilian President Luiz Inácio da Silva, the “most successful politician of his time.”
A 12,000-word profile of recently departed Brazilian President Luiz Inácio da Silva, the “most successful politician of his time.”
Perry Anderson London Review of Books Mar 2011 50min Permalink
On Elizabeth Taylor at the height of her fame.
Dominick Dunne Vanity Fair Mar 2007 Permalink
Best Article Crime History Science
In the 1880’s, a shabbily dressed man popped up in numerous America cities, calling upon local scientists, showing letters of introduction claiming he was a noted geologist or paleontologist, discussing both fields at a staggeringly accomplished level, and then making off with valuable books or cash loans.
- Skulls in the Stars Feb 2011 30min Permalink
Immigrant farmers are flocking to the poultry industry – only to become 21st-century sharecroppers for companies like Tyson.
Monica Potts The American Prospect Mar 2011 15min Permalink
A profile of Sabrina Harman, the soldier who took many of the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs.
Errol Morris, Philip Gourevitch New Yorker Mar 2008 45min Permalink
In January 2009, a U.S. platoon came under rocket attack in Iraq. Two years later, how the event changed the soldiers’ lives.
Daniel Zwerdling, T. Christian Miller ProPublica Mar 2011 40min Permalink
Sasha Shulgin, a former DOW chemist who now lives a quiet life as a pensioner outside the Bay Area, is responsible for the discovery of the majority of psychedelic compounds currently known.
Drake Bennett New York Times Magazine Jan 2005 15min Permalink
The life that he has created almost from scratch over the last two years has been defined at least as much by what Tyson wants to avoid — old haunts, old habits, old temptations and old hangers-on — as by what he wants to embrace.
Daphne Merkin New York Times Magazine Mar 2011 10min Permalink
In the late ’80s, Lewis went to Japan to research a hypothetical: what would the economic fallout be if a major quake hit?
Michael Lewis Manhattan Inc. Jun 1989 30min Permalink
A conversation on the Times Square of the ’50s and ’60s.
Geoffrey O'Brien, Luc Sante BOMB Magazine Sep 1998 20min Permalink
On Don DeLillo’s Underworld.
Luc Sante New York Review of Books Nov 1997 15min Permalink
After the 1919 Black Sox scandal, Ring Lardner, America’s first great sportswriter, walked away from the game.
Douglas Goetsch The American Scholar Apr 2011 25min Permalink
On the mysterious relationship between a major New York State power broker and a Brooklyn family. “The Turanos are variously described by friends, neighbors and colleagues as the senator’s social acquaintances, lovers or surrogate relatives.”
The swinging life and boozy death of the original ladies man, and the story of “the coroner that tampered with his cold, lifeless venereal warts.”
Kliph Nesteroff WFMU Blog Mar 2011 10min Permalink
On the ground in post-disaster Japan.
Evan Osnos New Yorker Mar 2011 20min Permalink
On the many lives and careers of Owsley Stanley (1935-2011), chemist, sound design innovator, and outback jeweler, whose name appears in the OED as a synonym for “a particularly pure form of LSD.”
Robert Greenfield Rolling Stone Jul 2007 30min Permalink
Intended for cremation, 244 bodies are instead harvested for organs and tissue. The story of the families of the dead, the men who profited off the scheme, and the unwitting recipients of black market body parts.
Dan P. Lee Philadelphia Magazine Mar 2008 20min Permalink
If you hit a bar or restaurant in South Miami, there’s a good chance Eddie Santana has waited tables there. And then sued. Sometimes after only a single day on the job.
Michael E. Miller The Miami New Times Mar 2011 15min Permalink
A profile of Zack Snyder, director of Watchmen, Dawn of the Dead, and the upcoming Superman series.
Alex Pappademas New York Times Magazine Mar 2011 10min Permalink
On reservations, where policing hardly exists, bruiser-for-hire vigilantes are often the first choice for justice.
Mac McClelland Mother Jones Nov 2010 Permalink
A young black gentrifier gets lumped in with both groups, often depending on what she’s wearing and where she’s drinking. She is always aware of that fact.
Shani O. Hilton Washington City Paper Mar 2011 30min Permalink
The story of the 2010 NCAA championship game between Duke and Butler, and what would have been greatest shot in college basketball history.
Tim Layden Sports Illustrated Mar 2011 25min Permalink
On January 27th in Lahore, an American named Raymond A. Davis stopped his Honda Civic and shot two Pakistani men, then made a failed attempt to flee. Beyond those basic facts, little is agreed upon, and the murders have ignited a diplomatic crisis, which only intensified with the revelation that Davis was a CIA subcontractor.
Scott Horton Foreign Policy Mar 2011 15min Permalink
An undercover report on Afghanistan’s drug-smuggling border police that is now heavily used for intelligence training.
Matthieu Aikins Harper's Dec 2009 Permalink
An artifact from the era when MySpace was king.
James Verini Vanity Fair Mar 2006 20min Permalink