Inside Gibsonton, Florida, the carny capital of the nation.

A profile of Gil-Scott Heron.

The story of Daily Kos and its founder, Markos Moulitsas.

An oral history of director Michael Bay.

On Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and the gender dynamics of Silicon Valley.

Drones, renditions, and underground prisons; inside the war on terror’s African front.

In the eighteen years since the infamous “Black Hawk Down” incident in Mogadishu, US policy on Somalia has been marked by neglect, miscalculation and failed attempts to use warlords to build indigenous counterterrorism capacity, many of which have backfired dramatically. At times, largely because of abuses committed by Somali militias the CIA has supported, US policy has strengthened the hand of the very groups it purports to oppose and inadvertently aided the rise of militant groups, including the Shabab.

A profile of the reclusive musician.

How the lowest end of American retail does business.

A profile of Steve Buscemi.

On Timothy Treadwell, who lived and died with the bears of Alaska.

On the life of a small-town druggist in Colorado.

On the phenomenal, disturbing influence of Ayn Rand.

Retracing the early economic steps of the Obama administration.

A profile of Hugo Chávez, two years into his presidency.

A profile of pre-Late Night David Letterman.

Fear, racism, and the historically troubling attitude of American pioneers.

The story of Jeb Bush and Terri Schiavo.

The long arm of the DEA reaches into Liberia to bust a cocaine trafficker.

How American higher education became a summer camp doubling as a debt factory.

On the murder of a young Hasidic boy in Brooklyn.

A portrait of Czech President Václav Havel as he left office.

A profile of John Williams.

A profile of comedian Ricky Gervais.

Fighting to the finish in the most dangerous region of Afghanistan.

A profile of New York chef and fisherman David Pasternack.