Serena Williams’s Love Match

How the greatest tennis player of all time met an internet entrepreneur, fell in love, got pregnant, and won a grand-slam.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Jun 27, 2017
Length: 19 minutes (4,905 words)

The Stradivarius Affair

Buzz Bissinger reports about the case of the stolen Lipinksi Stradivarius violin last winter, which was recovered by the Milwaukee Police Department and FBI after they tracked down its thief, a street criminal who had allegedly dreamed of stealing one in prison.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Oct 17, 2014
Length: 27 minutes (6,779 words)

Darkness in August

An account of a senseless murder of a 22-year-old Australian man in Duncan, Oklahoma:

In June 2012, in neighboring Velma, a 16-year-old girl, Braylee Henry, had gone into the Tee Pee Totem convenience store to get a soda. She encountered Miles Bench, a 21-year-old man who worked there. Bench, apparently infatuated with Henry, allegedly beat her to death with a blunt instrument, dumped her body, and then was arrested driving her car. (Bench has pleaded not guilty.)

People in Duncan and surrounding towns were shocked by the brutality of such crimes. They responded with admirable largesse for the families of the victims. But the crimes were passed off as aberrational blips. On the morning of August 16, nobody thought violent crime was trending up.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Jan 17, 2014
Length: 30 minutes (7,546 words)

My Gucci Addiction

The Friday Night Lights author on his shopping addiction:

“I own forty-three pieces of Gucci—twelve leather jackets, six evening jackets, five pairs of pants, six pairs of boots, four shirts, seven pairs of gloves, and three scarves. I own items from Acne, Affliction, Alexander McQueen, Alexander Wang, Balmain, Band of Outsiders, Belstaff, Bottega Veneta, Brooks Brothers, Burberry, Chanel, Charles David, Diane von Furstenberg, Helmut Lang, Ines, Jan Hilmer, J.Crew, Jimmy Choo, Jitrois, Jos. A. Bank, Joseph, Junker Designs, Loewe, Lucchese, Marc Jacobs, Mr. S Leather, Nike, Northbound Leather, Prada, Rag & Bone, Ralph Lauren, Roberto Cavalli, Saint Laurent, 7 For All Mankind, Thomas Wylde, Valentino, Versace, and Wesco. I also have had several pieces custom-made for me by an amazing designer named Carla Dawn Behrle, who specializes in leather; they’re worth every penny and more, given her fastidiousness and attention to detail. I apologize to those letters of the alphabet I have not gotten to yet. Zara, don’t give up hope.”

Source: GQ
Published: Mar 26, 2013
Length: 26 minutes (6,645 words)

The Runaway Doctor

When luxury-loving Dr. Mark Weinberger vanished, in 2004, he left in his wake a wife saddled with more than $6 million in debts, a father headed for bankruptcy, and hundreds of patients who say he misdiagnosed them and performed completely unnecessary sinus surgeries. Now “TheNoseDoctor” of Merrillville, Indiana, is facing prison, along with more than 350 malpractice suits, after finally being captured while hiding out in a tent in the Italian Alps. The author investigates charges that a talented young physician became a greedy, mutilating mon

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Dec 22, 2010
Length: 33 minutes (8,477 words)

LeBron’s Band of Brothers

In an excerpt from his new book, the NBA’s biggest star recalls the team that made him: five kids who challenged themselves, one another, and their community, going all the way to the bittersweet final game that would make them National Champions.

Source: Vanity Fair
Published: Sep 1, 2009
Length: 33 minutes (8,458 words)