Our top picks for investigative journalism this year.
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The Mortician and the Murderer
An incredible photo essay in which both the images and words tell the crazy story of imprisoned mortician David Sconce (up for parole in 2022). In the ’80s, Sconce turned his family’s California funeral home into a mass crematorium and black market body part- and organ-harvesting business.
Rare L.A. Mega-Storm Could Overwhelm Dam and Flood Dozens of Cities, Experts Say
Because southern California doesn’t have enough problems.
A Green New Jail
What does environmental justice look like in a landscape overrun by prisons? Where the incarcerated suffer from unusually polluted surroundings, and prisons are a toxin in their own right?
Down the Rabbit Hole: A Psychedelic Reading List
The science, the strangeness, the promise, of psychedelic journeys.
Protecting the Unicorns Beneath the Sea: The Secret Seahorse Colony of Long Beach
“And if you’ve never seen a seahorse in the wild before, you will feel honored and awed, as if you’ve just seen a unicorn beneath the sea.”
Hard Shell Tacos Aren’t As Hardcore Gringo As You Think
The origins of hard shell tacos are hazy, but certain things are clear.
The Endgame of the Olympics
What if the Olympic Games never come back?
McDonald’s Starts Serving McTech to Survive in the Modern Age
Rapidly modernizing has caused the McDonald’s company some growing pains, but embracing Big Tech might just save them from their old analog self.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Gabriel Thompson, Tim Murphy, Deborah Netburn, Tove Danovich, and Sirin Kale.

