Anatomy of an Afghan War Tragedy

Nearly three miles above the rugged hills of central Afghanistan, American eyes silently tracked two SUVs and a pickup truck as they snaked down a dirt road in the pre-dawn darkness. The vehicles, packed with people, were 3 1/2 miles from a dozen U.S. special operations soldiers, who had been dropped into the area hours earlier to root out insurgents. The convoy was closing in on them.

Published: Apr 11, 2011
Length: 11 minutes (2,957 words)

Sober Traveling: AA Roadside Assistance for a Recovering Alcoholic

My goal for this trip in the winter of 2008 is to drive from California to a conference in Florida and back, attend AA meetings in seven states and see how they differ — and how they don’t. I have two fears: that a low-budget camping trip is dangerous for a lone woman and that I’ll end up hating the AA I find outside my local group. Without the one place I’ve felt most at home the last 28 years, where would I be?

Author: Kathy P.
Published: Jan 2, 2011
Length: 21 minutes (5,301 words)

In Haiti, a Relationship Built on Adversity

An American journalist is drawn into a friendship with a Haitian deported from the U.S. years ago. Each time a catastrophe strikes, Jean is there to help him. But life between the big-news disasters is another level of tragedy.

Published: Dec 30, 2010
Length: 10 minutes (2,521 words)

How Bell Hit Bottom

In 1993, 39-year-old Robert Rizzo arrived in town trailing the vague whiff of scandal. For a time he seemed like the man the working-class city needed — until he became an ‘unelected and unaccountable czar.’ “Rizzo and seven other Bell leaders past and present are charged with looting more than $5.5 million from one of the county’s poorest municipalities. It is a hydra-headed scandal that has spawned seven federal, state and county investigations and transformed a forgotten suburb into a synonym for rogue governance. It has resonated as a morality tale in which Rizzo is cast as a greed-crazed, cigar-chomping puppet master who cheated his way to an $800,000 salary and a 10-acre horse ranch.”

Published: Dec 28, 2010
Length: 10 minutes (2,633 words)

Mike Penner, Christine Daniels: A Tragic Love Story

The Los Angeles Times sports journalist lived most of his life wanting to be a woman. He discovered too late that he wanted his wife even more

Published: Aug 19, 2010
Length: 26 minutes (6,536 words)

Rags brought riches to Guess co-founder Georges Marciano, but now he faces ruin

Convinced that some employees stole from him, Marciano initiated lawsuits that backfired when a judge instead ordered him to pay the accused employees hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Published: Dec 15, 2009
Length: 5 minutes (1,284 words)

Dorsey High’s football program is about more than athletics

Under Coach Paul Knox, football offers a haven from the streets where players can learn to break free of tackles, on field and off.

Published: Dec 4, 2009
Length: 24 minutes (6,063 words)

An Iranian couple’s revolution

Both were members of the Basiji elite, the hard-line Iranian militia. Over time, they took different paths, one embracing feminism and the other mellowing, then turning back to the use of force.

Published: Nov 11, 2009
Length: 12 minutes (3,091 words)

A body larger than life

As a comic, Billi Gordon used his girth to get laughs. Now it’s imprisoning him, but he plans a breakout.

Author: Carla Hall
Published: Oct 14, 2009
Length: 8 minutes (2,177 words)

A Killing in the Desert – A deadly interrogation in Iraq

A U.S. soldier who lost two of his men questions a suspected insurgent about the attack. Afterward, a slain, naked Iraqi — and the truth about what befell him — are left behind in a dark culvert.

Published: Sep 13, 2009
Length: 9 minutes (2,421 words)