The looming collapse of agriculture on the Great Plains.

The history of the City of London Corporation, a “prehistoric monster which had mysteriously survived into the modern world.”

On (not) getting by in America.

How did the gambling magnate and prolific super PAC donor amass his billions?

The evolution of currency as “a complete abstraction.”

The story of a Ponzi schemer who became the mark.

How Wall Street thoroughly dominated Obama’s economic policy.

A look at Apple stores, where jobs are high stress, with low pay and little opportunity for advancement.

A profile of Doc Johnson, “the Procter & Gamble of sex toys.”

Meet Dr. Schnoz, the nose-sculpting YouTube king of Miami.

How technological progress slowed from its 20th-century peak, why we’ve shifted from changing reality to simply simulating reality, and whether capitalism is the true culprit.

On the moral failure of über-wealthy do-gooders.

How a Mexican drug cartel makes its billions.

A profile of life in Owsley County, one of the poorest in the country.

“Jon Corzine had never had anything to do with the futures business, had never run a public company, and hadn’t worked on Wall Street for a decade. His time there had ended badly. But by any reasonable standard, the former Goldman chief seemed almost embarrassingly overqualified. Says Flowers: ‘It seemed like we had more CEO than company.’”

A profile of Fleshlight inventor Steve Shubin.

How Sherry Hunt soaked the banking giant.

A Yale student on why nearly a quarter of her classmates will end up working for Wall Street.

The autopsy of a once-dominant site.

How one company is rethinking the business of sex toys.

A profile of Jamie Dimon as he became CEO of JP Morgan Chase.

With flash, hip-hop echoes rock’s golden age.

When rock was at its peak in 1972, Americans earning the equivalent of $1m a year took just over 1 per cent of national income. In 2010, this group’s share of national income had grown to almost 10 per cent. At the same time, the average tax paid by these top earners almost halved. The rise of Jay-Z’s “new black elite” reflects the growth in numbers of the super-wealthy. But the opulence that he and West flaunt also reflects the growing estrangement of those at the top from the rest.

How one man made millions with a fancy hamburger.

From failure to Pixar, Steve Jobs’ “wilderness years.”

In the early ’90s, American Airlines began selling lifetime passes for unlimited first-class travel. It hasn’t worked out well for the airline.