Longform

A tech neophyte looks for answers in Silicon Valley, “the last place in America where people are this optimistic.”

The amiable international arms dealer and the sting.

A former pilot of miniature cocaine-smuggling submarines tells his story.

A grandmaster on the computers that have bested him and how we have misunderstood the implications of artificial intelligence.

Nick Denton is rebooting his entire Gawker empire—and his vision is drawn more from TV than blogs.

“Why are you putting all that muddle in your brain that’s not needed to be there?”

An interview about why giving interviews is totally worthless.

A profile of the late artist and author Norris Church Mailer, who stayed with her husband Norman despite his notorious philandering.

Thoughts on an emerging brand of feminism and the ridiculousness of claiming that Tina Fey is unattractive.

Inside the world of competitive coding.

Autopsy of a spy.

The cop says she nabbed an online sexual predator. He says he was just willing to chat whatever it took to get laid in real life. Their story, from both perspectives.

A profile of Rafael Pérez, an infamously corrupt LAPD officer and the inspiration behind the Vic Mackey character on The Shield.

Where the actual online money is centralized, and where Google will have to go to continue chasing it.

The addictive lure of Brooklyn’s last bingo parlors.

A profile of Larry David, with a focus on his years as a struggling stand-up. “I was hoping that somehow I could get some kind of cult following and get by with that.”

What happened to the minds behind Napster, Gnutella, WinAmp, and BitTorrent after their creations irrevocably changed business and culture.

A lifetime worth of little scams adds up.

The unedited transcript of an interview with Julian Assange for the cover story of Forbes’ December issue. His next target? A major U.S. bank.

Its editors still live in different cities, still work different careers, and still treat Boing Boing as a (lucrative) hobby.

A globe-trotting, pre-CCTV profile of architect Rem Koolhaas.

DecorMyEyes is a online eyewear store with an unusual business plan; the owner harasses and intimidates customers who complain in order to get negative reviews posted across the web, in turn making his website more visible to Google searchers.

“Twenty-two years after being sent to prison for an unspeakable crime he did not commit, Calvin Willis walked out a free man, the 138th American exonerated by DNA evidence. He has won his freedom, yes, but how does a falsely accused man reclaim his life?”

The apparatus of counterinsurgency and occupation has funneled billions of dollars into Afghanistan, and much of it has ended up in the hands of insurgents. For those who have profited—be it through aid, extortion, corruption or legitimate business—there is very little incentive to bring the conflict to an end.

The latest WikiLeaks unveiling has exposed more than 250,000 sensitive messages from American diplomats. Among the revelations: the plan for a unified Korea, the Chinese government’s hacking strategy, and negotiations with countries for housing Gitmo detainees.

In 1976, newly appointed Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens voted to reinstate capital punishment in the United States. Thirty years later, he argued that it’s unconstitutional. Here, he explains why he changed his mind.