The rise of One Direction fanfiction that imagines the band members in relationships – with each other.

A “crude table-tennis arcade game” called Pong and the birth of the video game industry.

On the economics of the booming Somali pirate business, which is up 177 percent over last year.

In Silicon Valley, up all night coding in the dorms with the aspiring Mark Zuckerbergs of tomorrow.

The history of – and recent controversy over – the diagnosis.

The disappointing tenure of Uruguay’s great lefty hope.

“Quebec is the Saudi Arabia of maple syrup,” and it has the authoritarian regulatory regime to prove it.

On the Final Exit Network, a controversial right-to-die organization, and the death of their client John Celmer.

A profile of thriller writer Harlan Coben and what it takes to succeed as a novelist even when the literary establishment doesn’t acknowledge your existence.

A profile Hunter Moore,  the founder of the controversial revenge-porn site Is Anyone Up.

How Indians with the surname Patel came to own 1/3 of the motels in America.

The fatal allure of the Golden Gate Bridge and why it doesn’t have a barrier to thwart potential leapers.

The story of two Canadian artificial intelligence visionaries who became bitter rivals and then both committed suicide in the same month.

On the evolution of Nigeria’s booming film industry, which produces 50 full-length features a week.

An examination of the continued fascination with the 6-year-old beauty queen, 20 years after her murder.

A profile of the comic.

Why did the El Faro cargo ship sail directly into the path of Hurricane Joaquin, killing all 33 aboard?

The screaming ambassador to the sidewalks of New York City.

“Irrational behavior has always been man’s reaction to the presence of sharks.”

The article that inspired Jaws.

A treasure hunter found the world’s richest shipwreck off the coast of Cape Cod. Or at least that’s what he told his investors.

We think of the character as lithe and slim as the actors who’ve played him. But Shakespeare might not have intended him to be that way.

The most successful songwriter of the last twenty years is a forty-four year old Swede, Max Martin.

How a hanger-on at the fringe of San Francisco’s rock scene built the Rolling Stone empire.

The consumer giant looks to social responsibility in the age of big business.

Multiple women share harrowing accounts of sexual assault and harassment by the film executive.