The magician who spent his life debunking spiritualists and exposing con men.

Why do we honor dead soldiers rather than the fighters who deserted and the activists who demanded peace?

How the author writes best-selling non-fiction books without the ability to leave her house.

The surreal pageantry of the North Korean Film Festival makes Hollywood look demure.

The article that kept the New Yorker alive was written by a debutante. Who happened to be married to Irving Berlin.

Nowadays, the young and privileged view un- and under-paid assistantships as the road to a successful creative career. Are they deluding themselves?

Playing beer pong with David Axelrod—and other scenes from the lives of young, high-profile aides in the Obama White House.

How do you handle an infestation when you live on the Upper East Side and bedbugs could hurt the value of your apartment? With discretion.

A report from Camp Hope, the tent city that’s sprung up next to the Chilean mine where 33 men have been trapped since early August.

The “Shaggy Defense,” the “Little Man Defense,” and more—live from R. Kelly’s 2008 child pornography trial.

On the mysterious life story of blues icon Blind Willie Johnson and a half-century of attempts to fill in the blanks.

A grandmaster on the computers that have bested him and how we have misunderstood the implications of artificial intelligence.

Emmanuel “Toto” Constant, the founder of a barbaric Haitian paramilitary group, vanished from Port-au-Prince and resurfaced as a real estate agent in Queens.

The detective work that led to the recovery of a trove of stolen Nazi art.

Alaska brims with stories of people who vanish and are given up for dead. Once in a while, the dead return.

The revival of a landmark 1921 musical opens a door on the deep and twisted roots of black performance in America.

The hot dog black market and the immigrants it exploits.

In Peru, an unsolved killing has brought the Mashco Piro into contact with the outside world.

Centuries later, the Flemish master’s works are still open to interpretation.

Inside the final weeks of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

How Warren Hinckle and Ramparts magazine helped revive muckraking journalism and launch the New Left.

Some of the wealthiest people in America are getting ready for the crackup of civilization.

Inside the campaign to canonize the fire department chaplain who died on September 11.

How Shane Battier could score zero points in an NBA game and still be the most important player on the floor.

How Andrew Anglin went from being an antiracist vegan to the alt-right’s most vicious troll.