The Woman Who Outruns the Men, 200 Miles at a Time
Courtney Dauwalter specializes in extremely long races. But her success in winning them has opened a debate about how men’s innate strength advantages apply to endurance sports.
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Ansel Adams’ pictures of Los Angeles recall an era of war factories and 10-cent hot dogs
We’ve all seen Ansel Adams’ luscious black-and-white images of Yosemite. Lesser known are his pictures of life in World War II-era Los…
“I Don’t Want to Shoot You, Brother”
In 2016, a West Virginia police officer came upon a young man in distress who asked the officer to shoot him. The officer didn’t. A few minutes, another officer did. Only one of them lost their job.
The Expectations and Realities of Six-Man Football in Small-Town Texas
On the football field, one team went from six to eleven. Another went from eleven to six. And both faced challenges they didn’t expect.
Looking Inside My Heart - Longreads
Jen Hyde discovered that her heart valve was made by women working in a factory near her childhood home. Getting to know them brought her closer to her own mother.
The Triple Jeopardy of a Chinese Math Prodigy
A secretive hedge fund used the British court system to punish an IP thief‚ even though he was already in jail.
The Fire and Everything After
After flames engulfed an Atlanta highway last year, police arrested Basil Eleby for arson. The fire could have destroyed his life. Instead, it may have saved it.
We Thought We Knew Faith, Until We Didn’t
The making of a white-nationalist poster girl.
Predatory Lending Practices: Business Borrowers Hurt By ’Confession of Judg
How an obscure legal document turned New York’s court system into a debt-collection juggernaut.
Tossing a Bird That Does Not Fly Out of a Plane
A Thanksgiving story about the limits of human empathy.
The amazing craft of samurai swords
The ancient traditions reveal an astonishing understanding of chemistry.
A day in the life of Lloyd Squires, Vermont's 'best' bagel maker
Some consider him a master. That takes work.
The Captivating Story Behind the Making of Ansel Adams’ Most Famous Photogr
Ansel Adams captured many an American landscape as no photographer had before or has since, but in his large catalog you'll find few pictures as immediately striking as — and none more famous than — Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.
An Oral History of Laurel Canyon, the Sixties and Seventies Music Mecca
They made music together, took drugs, and slept together. But none of the legends of Laurel Canyon, including Joni Mitchell and David Crosby, remember it the same way.
Built to Burn - 99% Invisible
The Santa Ana winds of Southern California are sometimes called the “Devil Winds.” They pick up in the late summer and early fall, sweeping down from the mountains and across the coast. They’re hot and dry, and known for creating dangerous fire conditions. In late November of…
The Lethal Lunch That Shook Scotland
From cold cuts to cold case.
Will Stanich's Ever Reopen? Why America's Best Burger Spot Closed Down - Th
If you love a burger...
Crossing the Sahara in the Fourteenth Century | François-Xavier Fauvelle
How to make the trip from Sijilmasa to Oualata, circa 1352.
A new wave of grain - Boulder Weekly
When it comes to grain, the future looks like the past. Go back a half-century in Boulder County, and there’s Old Man Webber coming into town with his portable combine. Word gets passed around and Webber goes to every farm, home and plot growing wheat and chops it. Then Beth…
Secret Life of a Psych Ward Security Guard
My brute strength and wrestling skills made me a natural fit to maintain order. But what I really wanted to do was help people.
The Stranger in the Shelter
Two people went for a hike on the Appalachian Trail. Only one made it out.
Moonshine and the Mountaineers: West Virginia's tailgate tradition
The potent homemade whiskey is a hand-me-down through generations and a favorite of visiting fans. It's also illegal -- not that anyone cares.
The Florida Man Can’t | Nathan Taylor Pemberton
The Florida of the abstract joke is a worthy cipher for America’s signature blend of incompetent savagery.
A Debaculous Fiasco
The most expensive, bizarre, and obscure work ever created by Dr. Seuss.
The Lessons Of Dien Bien Phu | Hoover Institution
The most consequential military engagement in Southeast Asia in the 20th century is the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu. It was fought ostensibly between the French and the communist-led Vietmin at Dien Bien Phu, an obscure valley bordering China, in the remote northwestern part of…
War of the Worlds
For the 80th anniversary of Orson Welles' 1938 radio play "The War of the Worlds," we take a deep dive into one of the most controversial moments in broadcasting history.
Is Agnes Gund the Last Good Rich Person?
Ms. Gund is a wealthy white woman who spent a lifetime fighting for racial justice. At 80, she’s the homecoming queen of the philanthropy world. She’s also running out of cash.
The Shipbreakers
On a desolate, six-mile stretch of Indian beachfront, the bulk of the world’s big ships are dismantled for scrap. Though a ship is usually worth over $1 million in steel, the margins are low, the leftovers are toxic, and the labor—which employs huge
After the Fire
A murder, a missing deer head, and a Mr. Big sting.
A Cardiologist’s 9/11 Story - Issue 64: The Unseen
From trauma to arrhythmia, and back again.
The Halfway House
This man, Tom Goodnough, looked guilty as he slunk along, but that was how he always looked even when he'd done nothing wro
From Lithuania, with love
In February 2015, a cryptic email reached former NPR correspondent Ann Cooper from around the globe and across 28 years. It would pull her back into one of the most extraordinary reporting jobs in her career.
What the Hell Happened to Darius Miles? | By Darius Miles
Dudes like me ain’t supposed to talk about this type of stuff. I’m about to tell you some real shit. Things I haven’t told anybody.
Inside the Tiger Factory
Behold the marvel of the animal’s fabrication.
Buying My First Gun in the Dark Heart of America
At first I wondered why we needed to go to a gun show to buy a gun. After all, Charles lives about three miles from a store called Frank’s Gun & Repair. It’s at the corner of Highway 51 and 121…
The Unsolved Murder of an Unusual Billionaire
Last December, a Canadian pharmaceuticals executive and his wife were found strangled in their home. No one knows who did it or why, but everyone has a theory.
Sword Swallowers and Shrunken Heads: An Ode to Johnny Fox and His Freakator
[caption id="attachment_78396" align="alignnone" width="600"] This huge '60s sideshow banner—roughly 8 by 9.5 feet—was painted by esteemed circus arti...
The elephant as a person
Elephants might have the necessary capacities for personhood – we just need to help them acquire the cognitive scaffolding
The man who has eaten at more than 7,300 Chinese restaurants, but can’t use
David R. Chan’s love of lists and determination never to eat at the same place twice has seen him become an accidental expert on Chinese-American history. Just don’t call him a foodie
Hemingway, a Lost Suitcase, and the Recipe for Stupidity
No matter how good our intentions, sometimes we do incredibly stupid things, like lose a suitcase full of priceless writings. In this article, learn how to recognize the potential for stupidity before it happens.
How a Gang of Hedge Funders Strip-Mined Kentucky’s Public Pensions
Kentucky’s willingness to gamble massively on high-risk alternative investments for its pensions has made the state an easy mark for Wall Street hucksters.
How Being a Line Cook Ruined Me
When you exist outside of regular society, when the nine-to-five gig is as foreign to you as going somewhere hot for a vacation, it makes it easier to indulge in the wilder, untamed side of things.
How the Finnish survive without small talk
Their desire for avoidance is a predisposition so common that it’s become hard-baked into Finnish culture.
For Want of a Nail
Without a good shoeing, a horse can indeed be lost. Enter the farrier.
Dandelion seeds fly using ‘impossible’ method never before seen in nature
Nature - The seeds contain a lot of open space, which seems to be the key to sustaining flight.
The Love Story that Upended the Texas Prison System – Texas Monthly
In 1967, a 56-year-old lawyer met a young inmate with a brilliant mind and horrifying stories about life inside. Their complicated alliance—and even more complicated romance—would shed light on a nationwide scandal, disrupt a system of abuse and virtual slavery across the state…
Proof of life: how would we recognise an alien if we saw one?
Proof of life: what evidence would it take to convince you that alien intelligence had been found?
Small-Town Injustice
The shooting of a civilian exposes the underbelly of a small town police department.
West Virginia’s Small-Town Revival
Remote as they seem, communities just three hours from Washington, D.C., are more than a jumping-off point for world-class outdoor adventures.
My Bodyguard, My Self
The author spent a day with three men in a high-end security detail to find out how it feels to be safe.