“‘Operation Joe’ finds our top expert on atomic energy confidently carrying forward his research in the field of pure basic science, where the atomic bomb is only a ‘gadget.'”
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The Dubious Rise of Imposter Syndrome
“The impostor begins to do everything possible to prevent being discovered in her self-perceived deficiencies.”
Silicon Valley and the Rent-to-Own Trap
“If you want to become a homeowner but don’t qualify for a mortgage, Divvy Homes has a solution: Rent a house from them until you’re able to buy it. What could possibly go wrong?”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Alyssa Roenigk, Rachel Monroe, Brad Rassler, Will Bahr, and Zachary B. Hancock.
‘This Wasn’t His First Time’
A kidnapping deemed a hoax, the newbie detective who cracked the case, and the Harvard-trained lawyer whose mental unraveling set the whole story in motion.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: the appeal of the surreal, decoding AI dreck, goop relations, learning to think, and pigeon racing pitfalls
A Crime Beyond Belief
A Harvard-trained lawyer was convicted of committing bizarre home invasions. Psychosis may have compelled him to do it. But in a case that became a public sensation, he wasn’t the only one who seemed to lose touch with reality: As suddenly as the Peeping Tom incidents started, they stopped. “It was about the same time […]
The Crimson Klan
Exploring the history of the Ku Klux Klan’s presence at Harvard University.
The (Un-)Happiest Place on Earth and the Week’s Top 5
“I left Trip House at 8:12 on Saturday morning, having not been murdered, and drove to the Magic Kingdom. The woman at the ticket window asked if I’d come to Disney World to celebrate anything special, and I laughed. If I answered that question truthfully — using unmagical words like ‘genital,’ ‘student loan,’ and ‘gentrification’ […]
Mulling Desire, Honoring Murdered Women, and Our Top 5
I had no idea that the hot, tingly pain of blood returning to a frozen extremity is called the screaming barfies, until I read “What Is a Body For?” by Diana Saverin.


