A scholarly dispute devolves into criminal impersonation.

In 1980, Richard Pryor doused himself in rum, lit himself, and streaked though the streets or Northridge in a ball of flames. He would go on to live another 25 years.

Parsing the lives of middle-class twentysomethings.

Tales of mayhem on the set of The Canyons.

After offending Richard Marx, the author meets him to hash things out.

“For people who pay close attention to the state of American fiction, he has become a kind of superhero.”

The life and work of Nelson Algren.

A profile of Apollo Robbins, widely regarded as the world’s best pickpocket.

Robert Blake, Bonny Lee Bakley, and the misery of celebrity.

On the actors who unwittingly starred in The Innocence of Muslims.

A meditation on Hell.

Dan Akroyd, John Belushi, cocaine, and the making of The Blues Brothers.

A profile of Beck on the eve of his new album and nearly 20 years after the release of “Loser.”

Grammy-winning liner notes describing the rise, fall, and rebirth of Roky Erickson, who founded the psychedelic rock pioneers The Thirteenth Floor Elevators before a charge stemming from a single marijuana joint landed him in a Texas mental hospital.

How the pop psychedelic author helped jumpstart the modern apocalypse movement after an alleged visit from “Quetzal-coatl, a mystical bird-serpent in Mayan myths.”

Their partnership lasted a mere four years, but transformed comedy forever. Mike Nichols and Elaine may give their first joint interview since breaking up 51 years ago.

“I read an article a few years ago that said when you practice a sport a lot, you literally become a broadband: the nerve pathway in your brain contains a lot more information. As soon as you stop practicing, the pathway begins shrinking back down. Reading that changed my life. I used to wonder, Why am I doing these sets, getting on a stage? Don’t I know how to do this already? The answer is no. You must keep doing it. The broadband starts to narrow the moment you stop.”

A history of food poisoning.

The life and times of Willie Nelson’s guitar.

A profile of Martin Short.

On the reality TV empire of Thom Beers, creator of Deadliest Catch.

“Oh God, everybody hates Jane Austen. They don’t have the balls to say it.”

Inside one of the biggest antiquities-smuggling rings in history.

Is Bryan Saunders a drug-inspired outsider genius, or just in need of intervention?

Inside North Dorcester’s RJam Productions studio, where Nate and Gary Smith churn out rap demos for $500/tape.