Here’s every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
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The Caviar Con
When caviar-crazed Eastern Europeans flocked to Warsaw, Missouri to poach eggs from a vulnerable species of fish, federal agents went undercover and spent two years to build a case against them.
Once You Reach the Top of Mt. Everest, There’s Nowhere to Go But Down
Climber and explorer Cory Richards shares his challenges with PTSD, alcoholism, and infidelity.
If You Were a Sack of Cumin
In the midst of the Syrian Civil War, three grown siblings attempt to fulfill their father’s final wish. The journey is dangerous, but that’s no surprise; nowadays, death is always hard work.
All Hail the Rat King
From Martin Luther to The Nutcracker, Germany’s original national nightmare was a tangled knot of writhing rats.
Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail
During a month hiking Muir’s “Range of Light,” three young women traversed snowy mountain passes, ran out of food, confronted a gendered wilderness, and learned to deal with each other.
The Country Where Fútbol Comes First
Uruguay, a small nation with a deep-seated passion for soccer, is the inspiration for any underdog vying to win a World Cup.
Do Not Mess with the Devils Hole Pupfish
Pupfish: 1, Drunk hooligan: 0
Our 9,000-Year Love Affair With Booze
Alcohol isn’t just a mind-altering drink: It has been a prime mover of human culture from the beginning, fueling the development of arts, language, and religion.
“Madness and the Hurling of Furniture,” or How You Know It Was a Good Night in Ancient Greece
Andrew Curry’s thorough history of our relationship to and use of alcohol is informative, enlightening, and just plain entertaining.

