The psychology of cults and the scholars who fight about it.

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

On the phenomenal, disturbing influence of Ayn Rand.

Retracing the early economic steps of the Obama administration.

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

The complex, highly evolved world of Moscow’s subway-riding stray dogs.

Sandinista, reverend, and president of the U.N. General Assembly.

How the dream of the Euro became a nightmare.

The failures of the “broken windows” approach to policing.

A writer who went astray takes a road trip through the ruins of the American West.

An essay on the silent, secret grief of miscarriage.

LaGuardia and the failure of the American air terminal.

The search for a woman’s true identity and the unmasking of a serial killer.

A profile of the High Maintenance co-creator.

The sinking of the Costa Concordia cruise ship.

On the life and legacy of Canadian artist Matthew Wong.

A profile of the candidate 100 days from the election.

Inside the bleak world of Joe Francis, the man behind the “Girls Gone Wild” franchise.

The rise and fall of the new oligarchs, who raided the Russian state. When Putin came to power most fled, but not Mikhail Khodorkovsky: “The other oligarchs, when they saw the fuzz, knew they should run. But Khodorkovsky forgot.”

In exchange for his surrender, the top Colombian drug lord was allowed to build his own jail, complete with a disco, jacuzzi, and waterfall. Now 23 years later, it’s a home for the elderly.

As the most famous helicopter news pilot in American history, Bob Tur prided himself on being the ultimate alpha male. Except all along, he knew he wasn’t.

Bill Conradt, a well-known prosecutor, never arrived at the house in Murphy, Texas, where police and a crew from NBC’s To Catch a Predator were waiting. So the crew, along with a SWAT team, went to Conradt.

His wife murdered his mother, tried to do the same to him, and was prepared to orphan their 8-month-old child. The attempt left him blind. Then he defended her in court.

The Medallion Fund, a computer-driven hedge fund open to only 300 people, has produced about $55 billion in profit over the last 28 years. Almost nobody knows how they have done it.