A trip to the International Tolstoy Conference to investigate an unsolved murder.

An army of Western luxury-lifestyle purveyors flock to China to teach the country’s new billionaires how to act rich.

He used to weigh 1,000 pounds. Now he has to figure out what to do with the rest of his life.

Fishing gear can pose a deadly threat to whales—and to those who try to save them.

What happened when two guys set out to convert their Colombian megachurch to Orthodox Judaism.

How the Library of Congress failed to adapt to the 21st century.

She turned to Google for help getting sober. Then she had to escape a nightmare.

A lifelong Jehovah’s Witness moves to China to proselytize.

What it takes to deliver basic medical care to the most remote corners of the Himalayas.

An unlikely Army wife tries to come to terms with her husband’s calling.

Learning to love music—and to hate it, too.

Due to global warming, this island nation may cease to exist in 20 years.

How our efforts to illuminate the nighttime are dangerous to Earth’s biodiversity.

To save William Buttars’s life, his parents had to risk it.

What it means to stay true to the Steve Jobs brand.

Why all soccer fans should root for Holland to lose to Spain.

Strangers want their past relationships witnessed, and other strangers come to Zagreb to witness them.

Mr. Lindall was the only high school teacher who understood him. Then Mr. Lindall went to jail, and it was his turn to try to understand.

The fight to extradite El Chapo.

Two young girls attempt to murder another in Waukesha, Wisconsin, trying to bring an internet meme to life.

Three deaths in the mountains, and a community left to wonder: How close should we stand to our own mortality to feel alive?

She wanted to escape her marriage. He wanted to escape his life sentence.

How a police organization transitioned from a social club to an obstacle to reform.

To his friends and family, Ross Ulbricht was a compassionate, warm soul known for random acts of kindness. To the F.B.I., he was Dread Pirate Roberts, the mastermind behind the Silk Road who was willing to order hits to protect his black market operation.

What did $3M paid to a US consulting firm get Qaddafi? A glowing profile in The New Republic, written by a Harvard professor, who travelled to Tripoli to interview him. On the consulting company’s dime. Which he failed to disclose.