The Face of Pain

From 2003: In her dazzling “Autobiography of a Face,” Lucy Grealy detailed her quest to reclaim her jaw, disfigured by cancer. Suddenly, she was the toast of literary New York, beloved for her quick wit and wild streak, saluted for her grit. But her endless surgeries left her so weak, impoverished, and dependent on drugs that even her dearest friends couldn’t save her.

Published: Jul 1, 2003
Length: 28 minutes (7,237 words)

‘Damn Right,’ I Said.

“Decision Points” holds the same relation to George W. Bush as a line of fashion accessories or a perfume does to the movie star that bears its name; he no doubt served in some advisory capacity. … As a postmodern text, many passages in the book are pastiches of moments from other books, including scenes that Bush himself did not witness. These are taken from the memoirs of members of the Bush administration and journalistic accounts such as Bob Woodward’s Plan of Attack and Bush at War. To complete the cycle of postmodernity, there are bits of dialogue lifted from Woodward, who is notorious for inventing dialogue.

Published: Dec 22, 2010
Length: 14 minutes (3,594 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)

The Concealed Battle to Run Russia

The Federal Security Service (FSB) is in several ways more powerful and more of a threat to individual rights than the KGB was during the Soviet era. The KGB took its orders from the Communist Party, which always kept a close watch on its operations. In contrast, although both Putin and Medvedev have influence over the FSB, it is in many respects its own master. (US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates observed in a secret cable, released recently by WikiLeaks, that Russia was “an oligarchy run by the security services.”)

Author: Amy Knight
Published: Dec 16, 2010
Length: 18 minutes (4,687 words)

Transcript: The Julian Assange Interview

Q: Here you are facing, possibly facing, very, very serious charges indeed, double rape even, is a possibility—and you are saying: “I will not go back to the country where those offenses are alleged to have been carried out to face the music.” JA: No, I have never said that. Q: In that case you can catch the next plane back to Sweden. JA: No, I do things according to proper process. I stayed in Sweden for five weeks to enable that proper process to occur. Proper process did not occur.

Source: BBC
Published: Dec 21, 2010
Length: 14 minutes (3,504 words)

Out on the Ice

Brian Burke isn’t just a legend of the NHL. He’s a fists-up, knock-your-teeth-out gladiator. But when his hockey-loving son came out of the closet and died soon after, he was thrust into a strange new role: advocate for gays in a macho sports culture. He’s no cheerleader—he looks like he hates every minute of it—but locker-room homophobia may have finally met its match.

Author: Mary Rogan
Source: GQ
Published: Dec 21, 2010
Length: 19 minutes (4,864 words)

Suitably Dressed

It has become a symbol of conformity. “Suit” was the chosen insult of hippies to describe a dull establishment man. The garment has been ostentatiously rejected by Silicon Valley titans like Steve Jobs of Apple, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and Sergey Brin of Google. Yet the business suit has an exciting and mysterious history that should give wearers a tingle of pleasure every time they put one on. It is a garment born out of revolution, warfare and pestilence. The suit still bears the marks of this turbulent past as well as the influence of Enlightenment thinking, sporting pursuits and a Regency dandy. In the year that may well mark the 150th anniversary of the suit it seems a shame that no celebrations were held in its honor.

Source: The Economist
Published: Dec 20, 2010
Length: 7 minutes (1,905 words)

‘Quiet Time’

Kevin Rouse’s story reveals the difficulties of dealing with a population of men with adult sexual urges and often childlike thinking. The staff of the Human Development Center enacted a bold and unorthodox policy permitting sex between residents, but experts who deal with the developmentally disabled question whether the policy did more harm than good, creating a sexually charged atmosphere that may have encouraged sexual assaults.

Source: Tampa Bay Times
Published: Dec 19, 2010
Length: 16 minutes (4,025 words)

Bargain Junkies Are Beating Retailers at Their Own Game

“These wack-jobs who spend 20 hours a week stacking coupons? That stuff drives us batty,” says John Morgan, executive director of the Association of Coupon Professionals. “They dance all over the rules. These zealots may be following the letter of the law, but I don’t think they’re respecting its spirit.”

Source: Wired
Published: Nov 29, 2010
Length: 17 minutes (4,367 words)

The Social Network

Jose Canseco says he has regrets. The man is reportedly broke. The man is a pariah — he has been excommunicated by the high priests of baseball. He seems to believe this is because he told the truth about some things, because he admitted using steroids and named a few other players who used them as well. Perhaps he is right. And perhaps no one is ever entirely right.

Published: Dec 19, 2010
Length: 13 minutes (3,285 words)