How Zion, Ill., a fundamentalist Christian settlement with a population of 6,250, created one of the most popular stations in the country during the early days of radio.

Al Seckel held legendary parties in the 1980s and 90s, with attendees ranging from Slash to Francis Crick. He later became a collector of optical illusions and gave a TED talk on the topic. He may have also misled and defrauded many of the people he came into contact with.

On the mid-sixties birth of America’s underground newspaper movement and the rise of The Realist, East Village Other, Berkeley Barb, and more.

A review of Treme, the new HBO show about post-Katrina New Orleans from David Simon, creator of The Wire. “The series virtually prohibits you from loving it,” Franklin writes, “while asking you to value it.”

How did a Kentucky entrepreneur, a Louisiana politician, and the vice president of Nigeria end up in one of the biggest scandals to hit America’s black elite in decades?

An interview with rapper Drakeo the Ruler after he was released from prison, having previously faced the possibility of 25 to life despite being previously acquitted of murder charges related to a 2016 killing.

The belief that hidden memories can be “recovered” in therapy has been discredited, but the mental health establishment does not always learn from its mistakes—and families are still paying the price.

Ray Bowman and Billy Kirkpatrick, who began boosting together as teenagers, were arrested only twice during their prolific partnership. The first time was for stealing 38 records from a K-Mart in 1974. The second arrest came in 1997. In between, Bowman and Kirkpatrick robbed 27 banks, including the single biggest haul in United States history: $4,461,681 from the Seafirst Bank in suburban Tacoma.

A profile of Robert Cade, a University of Florida professor and inventor of Gatorade.

On getting a brain implant to slow the progress of Parkinson’s disease.

An appraisal of the Wisconsin congressman’s “green-eyeshade fiscal conservatism.”

The legacy of late hip-hop producer Paul C.

On Nate Silver and the messiness of modern political polling.

On Politico’s brand of insider journalism.

Dunks, drugs, and disappointment: an oral history of the 1980s Houston Rockets.

How a team of 40 engineers helped reelect Barack Obama.

Confessions of a Sweet Valley High ghostwriter.

Diary of a veteran gadfly.

The crumbling of an American icon.

Inside the DIY world of synthetic drugs.

The story of a tobacco industry whistleblower.

Inside the growth of intelligence contracting.

Script doctor Damon Lindelof explains the new rules of blockbuster screenwriting.

On the fast food workers of St. Louis.