An investigation of Scientology.

A writer struggles to understand, among other things, why humans do more for whooping cranes than for themselves.

A writer struggles to defend his arbor vitae trees from a pack of hungry deer—“an episode of great vexation and buffoonery.”

Where crazy things seem normal and normal things seem crazy.

A just-barred Pakistani-American attorney attempts to save a young family’s home from foreclosure and glimpses the contradiction-rich bureaucracy that has emerged in response to the housing crisis.

Scenes from Madonna’s first major tour and an author struggling to explain the 26-year-old’s massive, surging appeal.

A trip to interview former South Vietnamese premiere Ky on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the reunification of Vietnam ends with government surveillance, partying, and confusion.

A series on the growing income inequality gap in America.

The author joins his father’s work crew, gutting out foreclosed houses in Florida and interviewing their former residents.

Inside the C Street house in Washington and the little-known spiritual group behind it.

A Holocaust detective story: could a lampshade pulled from the ruins of Katrina really be Buchenwald artifact made of human remains?

An interview with William Gibson on the “dark, dark world of marketing, advertising, and trend forecasting.”

How the U.S. Army went evangelical and turned a war into a crusade.

David Chang’s manic quest for a flawless restaurant.

A 2009 profile of the guy behind 4chan, Christoper “moot” Poole, his anonymous army of millions, and how it’s all losing him money.

The Great Recession’s impact on the legalized prostitution industry in Nevada: more hookers, fewer johns.

The author enrolls in three cults - ADIDAM, the Moonies, and Aleph (formerly Aum, who carried out the Tokyo metro Sarin attacks) - via their New York branches.

The surreal world of Sarah Palin and her road show.

The poet and his love affair with Italian motorbikes (and also lots of women.)

A 13 year old gets a webcam and starts doing dirty shows online, ending up running a smut business in Mexico with his deadbeat father.

A profile of Francis Collins, a fervent Christian, former head of the Human Genome Project and Obama’s appointee to head N.I.H., now at the center of the stem cell research debate.

Fifty-four days after his group’s Everest climb turned tragic, Krakauer first told the story of what had gone wrong.

The original story of Christopher McCandless’ fateful trip into the Alaskan wilderness.

Christian Audigier is the man behind Von Dutch and Ed Hardy. The massive succes of his garish and expensive creations may say more about the power of celebrity than about fashion.

Alex Haley interviews the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s number two - Malcolm X - in a Harlem restaurant.