Trial by Fire

Did Texas execute an innocent man?

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Sep 7, 2009
Length: 64 minutes (16,242 words)

The Rubber Room

The battle over New York City’s worst teachers.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 31, 2009
Length: 26 minutes (6,560 words)

The Untouchable

Can a good mayor amass too much power?

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 24, 2009
Length: 43 minutes (10,770 words)

Max at Sea

Max knew that a bunk bed was the perfect structure to use when building an indoor fort. First of all, bunk beds have a roof, and a roof is essential if you’re going to have an observation tower. And you need an observation tower if you’re going to spot invading armies before they breach your walls and overtake your kingdom. Anyone without a bunk bed would have a much harder time maintaining a security perimeter, and if you can’t do that you don’t stand a chance. (Fiction)

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 24, 2009
Length: 30 minutes (7,506 words)

Secrets of Magus

Deborah Baron, a screenwriter in Los Angeles, where Ricky Jay lives, once invited him to a New Year’s Eve dinner party at her home. About a dozen other people attended. Well past midnight, everyone gathered around a coffee table as Jay, at Baron’s request, did closeup card magic. When he had performed several dazzling illusions and seemed ready to retire, a guest named Mort said, “Come on, Ricky. Why don’t you do something truly amazing?” Baron recalls that at that moment “the look in Ricky’s eyes was, like, ‘Mort—you have just fucked with the wrong person.’ ”

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Apr 5, 1993
Length: 59 minutes (14,902 words)

Wilder Women

The mother and daughter behind the Little House stories.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 10, 2009
Length: 19 minutes (4,765 words)

The Courthouse Ring

Atticus Finch and the limits of Southern liberalism.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 10, 2009
Length: 15 minutes (3,940 words)

A New Page

Can the Kindle really improve on the book?

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Aug 3, 2009
Length: 24 minutes (6,208 words)

Cocksure

Banks, battles, and the psychology of overconfidence.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Length: 15 minutes (3,943 words)

Enter Laughing

Senator Franken’s long journey.

Source: The New Yorker
Published: Jul 20, 2009
Length: 24 minutes (6,224 words)