Katharine Hayhoe is one of the country’s most influential atmospheric scientists, spreading the word about the effects of climate change. She’s also an evangelical Christian.

The hard luck stories of Trump fans in Florida, New Hampshire, and Iowa, including that of a man who legally changed his name to Donald Trump Jr.

The story of a pair of murdered whooping cranes and just how difficult it is to save a endangered species.

How an obsessive New Age hustler brought the sound of the ocean to millions of home stereos.

A history of the first African American White House—and of what came next.

All of the books about all of the David Bowies:

There are more and more books like this these days: rock histories and encyclopedias, stuffed with information, compendiums of every last detail from this or that year, era, genre, artist – time pinned down, with absolutely no anxiety of influence. And while it would be churlish to deny there is often a huge amount of valuable stuff in them, I do think we need to question how seriously we want to take certain lives and kinds of art – and how we take them seriously without self-referencing the life out of them, without deadening the very things that constitute their once bright, now frazzled eros and ethos.

The brilliant, tragic life of Hall of Fame second baseman Johnny Evers.

In 2003, a platoon of American soldiers opened fire on a family in a Baghdad intersection. A decade later, one of the shooters tracks down the survivors.

The economics of Woonsocket, where one-third of residents rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

An oral history of the 2003 World Series of Poker, as poker went mainstream in America and online players invaded the competition.

The story of Melissa Barthelemy, a prostitute killed in a string of murders on Long Island in December 2010.

A profile of Nora Sandigo, guardian to hundreds of kids born in America to illegal immigrants.

A turn in the orgy dome, half a hit of German-engineered acid and more adventures on the Playa.

Elias Pompa is the lone deputy in one of the poorest counties in Texas. He is also at the center of the U.S. border crisis.

The central witness in “one of the biggest cases of white-collar crime in American history” speaks out.

A profile of the world’s best League of Legends player, a 19-year-old Korean kid whose nickname is God.

The story of a lawyer-turned-money launderer, stolen evidence, and a bunch of comics selling at outrageously high prices at auction. And Mussolini.

On a local talk show, Ted Bundy’s mother speaks to the family of one of his victims.

Inside the paranoid world of Nike headquarters, where people are worried that Adidas might finally be capable of taking over the sneaker industry.

Uncovering the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin.

The surreal afterlife of the once-ascendant Dubai, where “the legacy of oil has made everything worthless.”

A profile of Sabrina Harman, the soldier who took many of the notorious Abu Ghraib photographs.

How Dennis from Head of the Class grew up to be the Aaron Sorkin of tween television.

The birth of the Beastie Boys—an oral history on the 25th anniversary of Licensed to Ill.

The Washington University philosophy professor devotes 4,697 words to the importance of using one’s education to better communicate with loved ones:

I want to talk to you about talking, that commonest of all our intended activities, for talking is our public link with one another; it is a need; it is an art; it is the chief instrument of all instruction; it is the most personal aspect of our private life. To those who have sponsored our appearance in the world, the first memorable moment to follow our inaugural bawl is the birth of our first word. It is that noise, a sound that is no longer a simple signal, like the greedy squalling of a gull, but a declaration of the incipient presence of mind, that delivers us into the human realm.