Glen McCurley was living a quiet life in Fort Worth when new DNA evidence linked him to a notorious crime: the killing of a teenager named Carla Walker, more than 45 years prior. Police suspect it wasn’t his first murder — or his last. The story of how he got caught takes some surprising turns, […]
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How Your Family Tree Could Catch a Killer
“Genetic genealogists like CeCe Moore are cracking cold cases and transforming policing. As DNA analysis redefines ancestry and anonymity, what knowledge should we be permitted to unlock?”
Gene Machine
The global genealogy industry is booming, with people’s desire to find out if they have some long-lost Viking blood outweighing concerns over privacy and marketing. Adam Elliott Segal deftly interweaves his personal story in this look at the success of consumer DNA kits. For the dozens of black-market babies I’ve interviewed over the years, submitting […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring notable stories by Antonia Cundy, Adrian Walker, Evan Allen, Elizabeth Koh, Andrew Ryan, Kristin Nelson, Brendan McCarthy, Frederick Kaufman, Lygia Navarro, and Judith Hannah Weiss.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Emi Nietfeld, Brendan Borrell, Boyce Upholt, Fernando Pinho, and Vann R. Newkirk II.
A List About Lists and the Week’s Top 5
“To love a list is to partake in letter and word, form and change. To make lists is to join a long line of list makers, to indulge in a timeless art, to break down the artificial wall that separates thinking and doing, thinkers and doers.” For some people, it’s simply a pen and index […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we are featuring stories from Liam Taylor, Piers Gelly, Christopher Cox, Anna Russell, and Lisa Russ Spaar.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Notable stories on chasing manhood, naming Gaza’s dead, searching the stacks for a rare book, leaving music behind, and opting out.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Lost soul, copy that, missing beats, muzzled watchdogs, and a ramblin’ man.
Best of 2023: Investigations
Our top picks in the investigative reporting category.


