Lovesick
On young love.
Life on Lockdown in China
Forty-five days of avoiding the coronavirus.
Solitude and Leadership
A speech on the value of being alone with your thoughts, delivered to the plebe class at West Point.
Life in Italian Lockdown After a Tragic Coronavirus Denial
It wasn’t until death rates began to soar that society began to take the outbreak seriously enough.
Mal On the Street: The Ambush Humor of Mal Sharpe
Before The Jerky Boys and Longmont Potion Castle there was Mal Sharpe.
David Arquette Is Still Fighting
Why is the actor wrestling—and nearly dying in the ring—at the age of 48? For pride, acceptance, and to undo the mistakes of his past.
Disease as Political Metaphor
Punitive notions of disease have a long history, and such notions are particularly active with cancer. There is the “fight” or “crusade” against cancer; cancer is the “killer” disease; people who have cancer are “cancer victims.” Ostensibly, the illness is the culprit. But it is also the cancer patient who is made culpable.
You Can Never Tell About a River
The author unearths the story of Frank Yerby, one of the the most prolific African-American novelists in history.
The Mother and the Murderer
He was jailed for killing her daughter. Then she feared the police had the wrong man.
Everything On 'Naked and Afraid' Is Real—And I Lived It
Behind the scenes of the survivalist reality-TV show.
Detroit Arcadia
Wanders through the emptied post-American landscape.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "The Anniversary"
A husband tells his wife a strange, secret story.
The School Shooting That Austin Forgot
In 1978, an eighth grader killed his teacher. After 20 months in a psychiatric facility, he was freed. His classmates still wonder: What really happened?
The Accusation
It began with a series of anonymous sexual-harassment complaints that the writer knew were false. But the truth was far stranger.
Jon Mooallem is a journalist, author, and host of The Walking Podcast. His latest book is This is Chance!: The Shaking of an All-American City, A Voice That Held It Together.
“There is this impulse that we have, this very clearly documented impulse that people everywhere have, to help. It sounds tacky, but when the bottom drops out, when ordinary life is overturned and there’s this upheaval or this disruption—if it’s a natural disaster or even something like this, that there’s ... in the book I call it a ‘civic immune response.’ People do spontaneously help each other, they work together, they collaborate. This whole idea that society falls apart and everyone descends into madness and violence is just not true. And we know that. We have science that shows it.”
Thanks to Mailchimp and Pitt Writers for sponsoring this week's episode.
How Cameo Turned D-List Celebs Into a Monetization Machine
Inside the surreal and lucrative two-sided marketplace of mediocre famous people.
Cold War
Snow science against the avalanche.
The Killing of a Colorado Rancher
When Jake Millison went missing, his family said he’d skipped town. But his friends refused to let him simply disappear.
Teen Models, Powerful Men, and Private Dinners
When Donald Trump hosted and judged the world’s biggest modeling competition.
Tom Brady Cannot Stop
A season with the New England Patriots’ 37-year-old quarterback.
There Is Only Urgency
Inside the National Quarantine Center, there Is no fear of Coronavirus.
The Storykiller and His Sentence
On the end of Harvey Weinstein.
Fiona Apple’s Art of Radical Sensitivity
For years, the elusive singer-songwriter has been working, at home, on an album with a strikingly raw and percussive sound. But is she prepared to release it into the world?
A Hospital’s Deadly Choice
Katrina’s floodwaters had knocked out the power. Evacuation of the sickest patients seemed impossible. So the doctors at Memorial did what they thought was right, even if they knew it was a crime.
A Sea Story
The Estonia was carrying 989 passengers when it sank in 30-foot seas on its way across the Baltic in September 1994. More than 850 lost their lives. The ones who survived acted quickly and remained calm.
