A profile of personal finance guru Dave Ramsey, who built his biblically inspired get-out-of-debt empire on the premise “it’s within your power to not take part in recessions and the economic troubles facing American families.”

A profile of the policy wonk who shone the light and turned the tide on overseas tax havens.

How Service Corporation International corporatized death, driving growth through everything from aggresive acquisitions, volume pricing on caskets and embalming fluid, a “strong flu season,” and pre-selling over $7.5 billion worth of burials.

New medicines can cost hundreds of thousands of dolllars a year. Are they worth it? A look at how a pair of pharmaceutical compainies set their prices.

Inside an industrial pig farm.

The capitalist evangelism of Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In feminist manifesto.

On the personal genetic sequencing company 23andMe and why their long time term strategy is collecting spit, not cash.

“She taught me the tricks of trimming. She taught me to smile when my back ached. She taught me some Bengali words. Sab bhalo. It is all okay.”

What it’s like to work for, compete against, and find out you’re the biological father of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. An excerpt from The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon.

An interview with the literary agent about the state of the book industry and how, at least for him, it continues to be quite lucrative.

On the online mug shot industry, which posts mug shots of anyone arrested (regardless of conviction) and charges $30 to $400 to have the photo removed.

Oil and iron-ore baron Eike Batista’s very bad year.

A young wonk is handed the budget of the world’s smallest republic.

A post-acquisition profile of Tumblr’s David Karp.

The rise and fall of Colorado’s newly-legal cash crop.

“Turns out your laptop—or camera or gaming system or gold necklace—may have a smidgen of Congo’s pain somewhere in it.”

Auditing a bankrupt city.

“The only thing I’m able to conclude after my trip here is that it’s incredibly difficult for a poor country to go about getting un-poor.”

The battle between government and industry for America’s best hackers.

How A+E’s CEO is navigating the new TV environment with hit shows like “Duck Dynasty.”

On the road with Johnson Zeng, who buys up the metal “Americans won’t or can’t be bothered to recycle.”

Undercover in an industrial slaughterhouse.

Previously: Conover discusses this story on the Longform Podcast.

Chris, a 25-year-old black man, tries to get a good job.

A 22,000-word profile of the Yahoo CEO.