“A digital sleuth named Bryan Hance has spent the past four years obsessively uncovering a bicycle-theft pipeline of astonishing scale.”
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The Mostly True Story of America’s First Black Private Investigator
He made his name in Chicago investigating racial violence, solving crimes, and exposing corruption. But America’s first Black private detective was hiding secrets of his own.
Barnaby’s Futura Fantasy
“In Crockett Johnson’s iconic comic strip, the type speaks for itself.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Twin Cities resistance, psychedelic self-reinvention, guardians of the ranch, a file of fragments, and Pantone’s political white.
How to Scam Like a Celebrity
“His alleged victims say he bribed New York Police Department officials, stole millions in diamonds, and persuaded Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Kim Kardashian to shill for a scam cryptocurrency. So why is Jona Rechnitz still free?”
A Forgotten Deportation, a New Questionnaire Series, and Our Top 5
An essay about a forgotten deportation and the reckoning it left behind, a glimpse into Maria Popova’s writing and reading life, and our five recommended stories of the week.
Kingdom of Funga: A Mycelial Reading List on a Strange and Surreal World Around Us
Seven stories celebrating the mystery and power of fungi.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories by Jenny Kleeman, Lucy Schiller, Michael Gardner, Emily Raboteau, and Angie Martoccio.


