Writing in his mid-30s—and, it’s worth noting, in 1969—the scientist breaks down the many pleasures he’s found in getting high.

A journey inside California’s medical marijuana industry, with a guide named Captain Blue.

A trip to the Cannabis Cup serves as a backdrop for an explanation of how the War on Drugs revolutionized the way marijuana is grown in America.

The story of how a 19-year-old kid in Idaho went from delivering pizza to leading a operation responsible for smuggling at least seven tons of marijuana across the Canadian border.

On marijuana’s impact on national politics, the economy, and the prison system.

Looking for a glimpse of America’s possibly legalized future, a reporter spends a week working at an Amsterdam coffee shop (and confronts his fear of weed, kind of).

A journey to Disney World with kids and weed.

How a group of hippie surfers and a former Spanish teacher built the largest weed-smuggling empire on the West Coast.

After being diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer at age 43, Williams resolves to make the most of her “bonus time” with her young children between visits to specialists.

The weeks following a near-death experience.

On terminal inmates and those trying to save them.

On identifying the man who encouraged strangers to kill themselves over the Internet.

A step-by-step account.

On a mother’s decision to donate her daughter’s organs.

As the war begins to end, Iraqis confront a broken country.

As U.S. troops departed, Baghdad in ruins.

Inside the safe houses where Syrian youth protesters have retreated since the uprising.

An account of captivity.

An interview with Shadid.

On his enduring relevance.

A scholarly look at the 2004 hit.

A transcript of an interview timed to the release of Jay-Z’s book, Decoded.

An early profile.

David Johnson’s unrequited correspondence with Jay-Z.

On the psychological considerations behind breast augmentation.

During World War I, surgeon Harold Gillies and sculptor Anna Coleman Ladd created masks for disfigured soldiers. Gillies’ work, especially, served as the basis for modern surgical techniques.

A profile of the controversial “Dr. Schnoz,” author of My Beautiful Mommy, a children’s book about plastic surgery, and the doctor behind “Operation Chuppah,” which gave Orthodox Jewish women free nose jobs to attract husbands.

After learning that his twin girls will be born with cleft palates, Chernoff and his wife begin the long process of preparing for corrective surgery.

Plastic surgery on the parts most people don’t see.

Life and debt as a young writer in New York.

Ninety grand in debt and wanderlust can be a powerful combination.

A stop on the author’s world tour of economic collapse.

How a comedy writer making $300,000 a year ended up homeless.

They make millions per year but, more often than not, lose it in retirement–78% of former NFL players, 60 percent of former NBA players, and even those in the MLB.

A former head writer for AV Club digs himself deep into debt, then gets out.

Auditing a bankrupt city.

A history of debt, bartering and money.