"This Was Abuse"
The fall of CBS showrunner Peter Lenkov.
In Plain Sight
The search for Syrian war criminals in Europe.
Silent Spring
Sounding a warning on pesticides.
The Remarkable Rise of Lil Baby
Four years ago, Dominique Jones got out of prison and learned to rap. Today he is, by many metrics, the most popular rapper in the world.
The Last Giraffes on Earth
The planet’s tallest animal is in far greater danger than people might think.
Tune In, Drop Out
Many young South Koreans were beginning to live in isolation years before the rest of the world joined them.
Gotta Dance!
Frankie Manning was the greatest swing dancer alive. Then the world forgot about him.
John Lewis Will Never Lose Hope
One of the last interviews with the congressman and civil-rights legend, who died Friday.
The True Story of the Heartthrob Prince of Qatar and His Time at USC
When a Qatari sheikh came to live in L.A., an entire economy sprouted to meet his wishes. “His highness doesn’t like to hear no,” one associate told a professor.
Mourning My Brother in 181 Tweets
How do you tell the world you are grieving? In my case, it was a year-long Twitter thread about finding the things that made me feel better.
Our Little Town of Bethel
A Black Lives Matter confrontation pitted neighbor against neighbor—and displayed the raw power of a social media flash mob.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Packed White Spaces"
A friend's party brings up sad memories and introspection.
Homicide at Rough Point
In the fall of 1966, billionaire Doris Duke killed a close confidant in Newport, Rhode Island. Local police ruled the incident “an unfortunate accident.” Half a century later, evidence suggests she got away with murder.
Covid Conversations With One of America’s Richest Men
How a pandemic unfolds when you’re a Wall Street billionaire.
The Parrot King
Over the past 14 years, Martin Guth has built a monopoly on some of the world’s rarest birds. Will his secretive organization ultimately help put more parrots in the wild, as he says or—push them closer to extinction?
Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman are co-hosts of the podcast Call Your Girlfriend and co-authors of the new book Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close.
“People telling you about their lives is a real privilege and honor. No one owes you to tell you their story. Sometimes in the world of people who write or people who make media there is just this expectation that everything is on the table, especially if you’re two women who make media, that we’re supposed to just share our pain and everything that’s going on in our lives but that’s not fair and it’s not true and I think the larger project of this book is really sharing these stories in service of having an honest dialogue about how other people are doing friendship.”
Thanks to Mailchimp for sponsoring this week's episode.
Up and Then Down
The lives of elevators.
I Was a Teenage Conspiracy Theorist
Want to know why wild conspiracism can be so irresistible? Ask a 14-year-old girl.
Sandra Bland Died One Year Ago
On the epidemic of deaths in jails.
Andy Samberg Is Happy to Be the Butt of the Joke
America’s poet laureate of the dick joke is taking it all in stride.
Electric Crypto Balkan Acid Test
Cryptomining in Europe’s most disputed state.
Waste Away
On Beirut’s broken sewage system.
How Trump Is Helping Tycoons Exploit the Pandemic
The secretive titan behind one of America’s largest poultry companies, who is also one of the President’s top donors, is ruthlessly leveraging the coronavirus crisis—and his vast fortune—to strip workers of protections.
The Exile of Oakland A's Bruce Maxwell and the Birth of MLB's Black Player Movement
One man’s choice to stand alone. The story of race, politics, and power in baseball.
On Practicing the Discipline of Hope
An interview with Jia Tolentino.
