The hamburgers at Ollie’s Trolley are among the best in the world. With all that flavor, why aren’t there Trolleys all over the South—all over the nation, even? Maybe the world wasn’t ready for a guy like Ollie Gleichenhaus.

The diner manager told the cook not to prepare the poached eggs a woman had ordered. The next day, the cook killed the manager. They had worked together amicably for 20 years.

There are many explanations for the rise in killings in U.S. cities, including the pandemic and the choices made in response to it. In Philadelphia, the causes, the human costs — and the suffering — are particularly stark.

The EPA called it the most severe exposure to a hazardous material in American history. The only people in Libby, Montana, who didn’t see it coming were the victims.

The author examines his closest relationships.

On Bitcoin, the world’s first “decentralized digital currency.”

Brutality persists at the famous prison.

The Western Hemisphere before Columbus.

On the old-man project.

On the best Super Bowl halftime show.

​The case against Anthony Fauci.

A report from the campaign trail.

Cyril the Swan was the mascot for a low-level soccer club in the UK. He was known for fighting with other mascots. And refs. And opposing coaches. He also saved the club’s financial fortunes. Then the nine-foot-tall bird became the prime suspect in a serious assault.

The water’s nearly gone in the San Joaquin Valley, and an old farmer sees the writing on the wall.

Attending the Afterlife Awareness Conference.

How the Chilean miners survived.

On the ground in Wilmington.

On the friendship that made Google huge.

On July 11, 2002, the researchers revealed that they had synthesized the polio virus, which had been wiped out in the US in 1979. It was the first time a virus had been created from scratch with synthetic DNA. The work was funded by the Pentagon in part to establish whether terrorists could pull off such a feat. The answer was yes.

A profile of a doctor fighting Ebola in Uganda.

A profile of Chan ‘Cat Power’ Marshall adrift in Miami.

A profile of Richard and Karen Carpenter.

A profile of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Living with – and dying because of – hyperacusis, a condition that grossly intensifies hearing.

A profile of Stanley Kubrick written by his longtime friend.