A nation’s uncertain future.

On Enrique of Malacca, “the closest thing there is to a hero in the story of Ferdinand Magellan’s horribly botched attempt to circumnavigate the world.”

Who is the rightful inventor of the blockbuster swimsuit known as the Kiini?

In Brooklyn’s Brownsville, being in a gang can mean as little as being born on a specific block. Ackquille Pollard spent his final free days as a viral rap sensation, before being jailed as the leader of a sect of Crips.

He was a fixture in the kitchen of one of Seattle’s most celebrated restaurants, with plans to move to New York City to further his career. Then he robbed a bank.

On the people who were working at Logan Airport when the hijacked flights departed:

They are the rarely noticed casualties of the terrorist attacks: the security guard, the ticket agent, the baggage handler on the ramp. They made it home that night, but with images they couldn’t shake, a pain uncomfortable to voice. They can’t believe it has been 10 years. They can’t believe it has only been 10 years.

On literary manifestos, long-distance reading, and the egg of death.

A 1993 profile of Ricky Jay, world-class sleight-of-hand conjurer who rarely performs (and never for children), historian of unusual entertainments and confidence scams, bibliomaniac.

How a tiny protest at the University of Nebraska turned into a proxy war for the future of campus politics.

Fifty years ago, The Last Picture Show changed the way the world saw small-town Texas and, in turn, the way the small town saw itself

For decades, “trimmigrants” have flooded California’s Emerald Triangle during harvest season in search of highly paid seasonal work. In the isolation of the dense forest, sexual assault is commonplace and rarely investigated.

He is one of the most powerful people in media and has become a prominent voice in the #MeToo movement. Now six women accuse Moonves of harassment and intimidation, and dozens more describe abuse at his company.

Peggy Jo Tallas spent most of her adult life doing two things: taking care of her ailing mother and robbing bank after bank dressed as a pudgy, bearded cowboy.

When people ask what I like so much about being from the Midwest, I get to tell them: I know the architecture of the wind. I know the violence it blows in and out. I like to keep my survival as simple as I can.

A fragile relationship teeters during a family vacation.

Looking for answers while camping with an abusive father.

From Word to smartphones.

We know we need it, but we don’t know why.

Meet Ladar Levison, Edward Snowden’s email provider.

How “Do What You Love” devalues actual work.

An undercover cop targets an autistic teen as a drug dealer.

On Johnny Carson, a cold man in a hot seat.

Apple vs. Google vs. Facebook vs. Amazon.

What our private codes say about us.