On a press junket in Ecuador, the author investigates the ethics of shopping.

How group of misfits in Texas including Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings snubbed Nashville and brought the hippies and rednecks together. An oral history of outlaw country.

Scientists quarrel about the fate of animals living in the 1,600 square mile exclusion zone.

Margaret Profet, evolutionary biologist and MacArthur grant recipient, disappeared in 2005. She has neither been seen nor heard from since.

The story of Trina Garnett, “one of approximately 470 prisoners in Pennsylvania serving life without parole for crimes they committed as teenagers.”

A trip to Disneyland in the mid-1960s.

Previously posted on Longform.org on January 25th, 2012.

On Jenny Craig’s European expansion and how dieting differs in France and the States.

His book panned in the New York Times after being misread by the critic, an author responds.

The author interviews her mother about life as a secretary at Playboy in 1960s New York City.

The legalizing of euthanasia is usually seen as a advancement in human rights. But is it appropriate for cases of non-terminal illness?

“Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body—it is heritage.”

He may not be the surest bet for the Presidency, but Bernie Sanders might be the most interesting candidate in the race.

When Jeb Bush married his wife, it was the bravest thing he’d ever done. Her role in his life is still a mystery.

In Ontario, Canada, ribfests were largely non-profit affairs. Then one man decided to make a profit off their popularity.

“Richard Williams raised her to go to war with the world. Post-tennis, she plans to live in it.”

Personalized medicine may one day deliver routine medical miracles. But it wasn’t ready in time for Stephanie Lee.

A town ruined by the chemical C8, an ingredient in the making of Teflon.

Life at a roadside zoo with ligers, orangutans, and an elephant in Florida.

How one woman’s sexual assault by four University of Oregon football players in 1980 unwittingly led to the state’s expansive free speech protections.

The first sports bra was invented in 1977. It was two jockstraps sewn together.

In what will likely be his last political act, Willie Nelson declares war on corporate marijuana.

What happened after the first openly gay player in Division I men’s basketball came out.

Kelvin Villanueva had lived in America for 15 years. He had four kids. He had a job. Then he was stopped for a broken taillight.

How agents took down Mexico’s most vicious drug cartel and, in the process, gave El Chapo the opportunity to create an empire.

Rabbi Barry Freundel said he would help dozens of women convert to Judaism. In the process, he secretly videotaped them naked.