A year with Major Steve Beck as he takes on the most difficult duty of his career: casualty notification.

A married father of two tracks down his free-living doppelgänger, a musician who has avoided responsibility at every turn, to see who’s happier.

How a convicted sexual predator emptied the bank accounts and ruined the lives of several women from behind bars.

The author reflects on his mayoral run with Norman Mailer against John Lindsay.

At the bar one night a couple of weeks after the primary, I looked up from a drink and saw my face and Norman's face floating across the screen on the NBC First Tuesday show. It is a network thing, and they did a 20-minute look at our campaign. The show reinforced my opinion that Norman and I had some of the most terrific lows in the history of anything that ever took place in this city. And, perhaps, a couple of highs that could be recognized as time passes a bit. Like maybe colleges for years will be using the things Norman Mailer was saying out in the streets.

The author recounts playing herself – best-selling author Sloane Crosley – on an episode of “Gossip Girl.”

An ode to professional basketball players and why pro ball is the best ball of all.

Meet Faygele ben Miriam, the radical activist “beyond the leading edge” of the same-sex marriage fight.

A profile of the Hollywood star-maker behind Vanna White, Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy.

On the complex nature of a presidential second term and what Obama would do if he wins one.

Meet Dr. Schnoz, the nose-sculpting YouTube king of Miami.

A history of The New Yorker and its editors, from founder Harold Ross through Tina Brown.

The secret is an exclusive 22-year-old archive of viewer-submitted clips.

Al-Jazeera English dominated the international coverage of the 2008-2009 Gaza war. And now it’s poised to invade North America.

In 2003, Gary Coleman ran for governor of California. But what he really wanted was to have never come to Hollywood in the first place.

Nitrous balloon vendors clash in the parking lots of jam band festival across the Northeast.

In the early ’80s, underground chemists cooked up synthetic versions of heroin that took over the market in California—and left young users with symptoms typically associated with Parkinson’s.

An interview with William Gibson on the “dark, dark world of marketing, advertising, and trend forecasting.”

How a childhood gorilla-hunting safari and a string of sexless marriages led Alice Sheldon to become reclusive sci-fi legend James Tiptree Jr.

A 2006 profile of Mark Zuckerberg as Facebook opened from a college-only site to a public social network.

A profile of Anas Aremeyaw, an investigative journalist in Ghana who’s willing to do anything–and pose as anyone–to get the story.

A profile of Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton, junior college transfer and Heisman Trophy frontrunner.

A history of entrepreneurship in New York City, starting with shipping magnate Jeremiah Thompson’s big gamble in the 1820s: scheduled departures.

How Cantor Fitzgerald is bringing the principles of day trading to sports betting in Vegas.

A profile of the late artist and author Norris Church Mailer, who stayed with her husband Norman despite his notorious philandering.

A profile of 12-year-old actress Elle Fanning, Dakota’s sister.