The Ultra-Wealthy Who Argue That They Should Be Paying Higher Taxes
In an age of historic disparity, Abigail Disney and the Patriotic Millionaires take on income inequality.
The Hacker Who Took Down a Country
Daniel Kaye, also known as Spdrman, found regular jobs tough but corporate espionage easy. He’s about to get out of prison.
The Army of Prayer Warriors Fighting Trump’s Impeachment
As the Senate takes up his impeachment trial, white Christian evangelicals remain firmly in the president’s corner.
How a Former Bank Robber Saved Her Football Star Son
Antonio Carrion was headed for the NFL when the voices started and he drifted away. Then his estranged mother finished her time for robbery and saved him from a system that’s unkind to the mentally ill.
The Most Stylish Scammer: 20 Years of ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’
Anthony Minghella’s 1999 film adaptation, starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and the coast of Italy, has become a cult classic (and a warning).
So You Think You Can Paint
Why is Rick DeVos, the son of Betsy and the heir to the DeVos fortune, investing in a weirdly populous and highly lucrative art contest?
Fiction Pick of the Week: "The Only One Who Could Ever Teach Me"
Widowers form a bond.
I and Thou: A Bigfoot Encounter
I sometimes miss believing, and look toward the days when I was satisfied by testimony—by the feeling that there were encounters everywhere, all seeming to attest to some great mystery.
Stolen and Erased
A Navajo girl was exploited and sex trafficked in urban and rural New Mexico. Why did so many fail to help her?
Liana Finck, a cartoonist and illustrator, contributes to The New Yorker and is the author of Excuse Me and Passing for Human.
"I was drawing since I was 10 months old. My mom had left this vibrant community of architects and art people to live in this idyllic country setting with my dad, and she poured all of her art feelings into me. She really praised me for being this baby genius, which I may or may not have been. But I grew up thinking I was an amazing artist. There weren’t any other artists around besides my mom, so I didn’t have anything to compare it to. There were no art classes around. … I was so shy, so I was just always drawing and making things."
Thanks to MailChimp and Pitt Writers for sponsoring this week's episode.
Miss Girard’s Christmas Gift
When her former student was found wandering the streets a decade after she’d last seen him, Michelle Girard immediately agreed to take him in. Then she decided to do far more, including give him the Christmas he’d never had.
Collision Course
The Navy installed touch-screen steering systems to save money. Ten sailors paid with their lives.
Is Nuclear Power Worth the Risk?
After Fukushima, balancing the risk of another disaster against the rising danger of climate change.
Death of a Freelancer
On the death of a young reporter named Christopher Allen and the state of conflict journalism.
20,000 Feet Under the Sea
History’s largest mining operation is about to begin. It’s underwater—and the consequences are unimaginable.
"Ready, Set, Trump"
Can Jerry Falwell Jr. build Liberty University’s football team into the evangelical version of Notre Dame?
The Movement to Bring Death Closer
Home-funeral guides believe that families can benefit from tending to—and spending time with—the bodies of their deceased.
We recommended 988 articles this year. These were our favorites.
Fiction Pick of the Week: "Only Orange"
Grown siblings, relationships, and ways of seeing.
Mina Kimes is a senior writer at ESPN and host of the podcast ESPN Daily.
“What I’ve found, and this is something I did not know would be the case going into it, is that sports stories—and, at the risk of sounding a bit self-important, maybe someone like me writing sports stories or talking about it in particular—can have an impact in other ways that have revealed themselves to me over time.”
Thanks to Mailchimp, Pitt Writers, and Family Ghosts for sponsoring this week's episode.
Oceans Apart
An archipelago off the African coast and its migration crisis.
My Life as a Robot
The author, who works remotely, and her evolving relationship with her physical representation at the office: “an iPad on a stick on a Segway-like base.”
Dressed to Kill
A new Ned Kelly film explores the masculinity behind the mask.
I Walked 600 Miles Across Japan for Pizza Toast
The fading beauty of Japan’s traditional cafes and their signature snack.
Is America’s Favorite Playwright Too Much for New York?
Lauren Gunderson on the eve of her New York premiere.
