On being gay in the military, three years before Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell:

A vast majority of those interviewed had been interrogated at least once, and what they described was nearly the same. They said those under suspicion of homosexuality suffer bright lights in their eyes and sometimes handcuffs on their wrists, warnings that their parents will be informed or their hometown newspapers called, threats that their stripes will be torn off and they will pushed through the gates of the base before a jeering crowd.

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

When a writer’s daily routine gets out of control.

One morning, as I gobbled my doughnut and slurped my coffee, thinking to myself, "What a fantastic doughnut, what an amazing coffee," I realised that I had not just thought this but was actually saying aloud, "What a fantastic doughnut! What a totally fantastic experience!", and that this was attracting the attention of the other customers, one of whom turned to me and said, "You like the doughnuts, huh?"

The monologist as a young man.

How an academic found herself imprisoned by Qaddafi.

A jury recommends life in prison; the judged orders a death sentence.

"The Colonel went out sailing. He spoke with Turk and Jew . . ."

The story of Jeb Bush and Terri Schiavo.

A profile of Sage Kimzey, the 20-year-old king of rodeo.

The quest to create a friction-free Disney World.

The mysterious death of one of college basketball’s most promising coaches.

A meditation on life in the black “upper class.”

How Tom Arnold’s little sister started the meth epidemic.

In court and visiting prison with the parents of young Russian Nationalists who’ve killed.

How the Justice Department killed a $2.5 billion industry.

The stories of four men who’ve lost their jobs and desperately want new ones.

On the family origins of an eating disorder.

A young man’s personal account of undergoing “ex-gay treatment.”

How we try - and usually fail - to fight the mosquito.

How Sherry Hunt soaked the banking giant.

Visiting his daughter in San Francisco, the author longs for food delivery in Manhattan.

The curious case of SpongeBob SquarePants illustrator Todd White, three ninjas, and an art caper.

The contradiction-rich world of Maya Arulpragasam.

A teenage love triangle turns tragic in Pinellas Park, Florida.

A day in the life of a Brooklyn laundromat.