Why Am I So Fat?

Writer and performer Sara Benincasa writes a brilliant, biting, and hilarious response to the guy who wrote her asking, “Why did you gain so much weight?”

Source: Medium
Published: Aug 18, 2016
Length: 14 minutes (3,700 words)

American Horror Story

“When I was a child, I always half-suspected that America wasn’t real.” Laurie Penny goes back stage at both conventions, and sees American myth-making in action.

Source: Medium
Published: Jul 28, 2016
Length: 7 minutes (1,902 words)

The New Normal

A meditation on grief, from the late comedian Harris Wittels’ sister.

Source: Medium
Published: Jun 10, 2015
Length: 17 minutes (4,326 words)

How Paper Magazine’s Web Engineers Scaled Kim Kardashian’s Back-End

An in-depth look at how publishers on the internet prepare for an explosion of traffic.

Author: Paul Ford
Source: Medium
Published: Jan 22, 2015
Length: 14 minutes (3,500 words)

The Troll’s Lawyer

Tor Ekeland, unemployed and burned out from his job working at a corporate law firm, decided to defend Andrew Alan Escher Auernheimer, a Jew-hating hacktivist also known as weev, and challenge a sweeping computer crime law.

Source: Medium
Published: Jan 5, 2015
Length: 26 minutes (6,716 words)

The First Record Producers

Writer and musician Bob Stanley vividly recounts the rise and fall of Phil Spector and Joe Meek.

Source: Medium
Published: Sep 12, 2014
Length: 12 minutes (3,002 words)

Life Atop Ground Zero

“This is what it means to never forget.” #Sept11

Source: Medium
Published: Sep 11, 2014
Length: 14 minutes (3,626 words)

The Aftershocks

Seven Italian scientists were convicted of manslaughter after a magnitude-6.2 earthquake hit the city of L’Aquila, killing 297 people and injuring thousands. Scientists across the globe are worried about the effect this case will have on experts who are asked to provide an opinion.

Source: Medium
Published: Aug 25, 2014
Length: 22 minutes (5,586 words)

You’re 16. You’re a Pedophile. You Don’t Want to Hurt Anyone. What Do You Do Now?

Reporter Luke Malone talks to a teenager who, after realizing he is a pedophile, seeks help and starts a support group for people like him. “I asked them if they knew anyone like that, and a few weeks later I received an email. ‘My name is Adam,’ it read. ‘I’m 18 and non-exclusively attracted to boys and girls of all ages (particularly very young ones). I am the leader of a support group for non-offending pedophiles around my age… I would be very happy to talk with you.'” Warning: This story includes graphic details of child abuse.

Additional reading: The Awl’s Choire Sicha interviews Luke Malone about how he reported the story.

Source: Medium
Published: Aug 11, 2014
Length: 31 minutes (7,911 words)

The Best-Selling, Billion-Dollar Pills Tested on Homeless People

The reporter speaks with people living in shelters—many of which have mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder—about their experiences with participating in pharmaceutical studies for money.

Source: Medium
Published: Jul 28, 2014
Length: 25 minutes (6,460 words)