“To a reading list on these mind-bending entities at a planetary tipping point, welcome. What you see here are only some fruiting bodies, the rest lies underneath.” I first learned about the parasitic fungus that takes over a bug’s body and commandeers its brain back in 2023, when I picked Zhengyang Wang’s “The Last of […]
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending excellent stories by Charlotte Higgins, Lex Pryor, Michael Hardy, Elissa Altman, and Brad Phillips.
What Happens to a School Shooter’s Sister?
“Twenty-five years ago, Kristin Kinkel’s brother, Kip, killed their parents and opened fire at their high school. Today, she is close with Kip—and still reckoning with his crimes.”
How to Save True Crime: A Reading List of Wrongful Conviction Stories
Stories about wrongful convictions open our eyes to systemic injustices in the U.S. court system. Maurice Chammah, a staff writer at The Marshall Project, compiles his recommended longreads within the genre.
The Joy of Sweat and the Week’s Top 5
“To move in spin class only for the sake of moving, of the joyful challenge itself, of sweating and pushing and dancing, is cool water in my throat. To be loved, simply for showing up, is pure golden sun in my chest.” Happy Friday and welcome to (unofficial) autumn! If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere […]
How Connie Walker Got Us Listening
“Walker was cut off mid-pitch by a producer who asked if she was talking about another ‘poor Indian’ story.”
Violent Delights
“The serial killer media industrial complex rages on, but what has it taught us? Very little about the crimes in question, and much more about ourselves.”
Why Did Walter Springs Die?
“In time, it was almost as if he had never existed at all.”
How Three Amateurs Solved the Zodiac Killer’s ‘340’ Cipher
In 1969, the Zodiac Killer sent an encoded note to the San Francisco Chronicle. In 2020, someone finally cracked the code. And that someone was three people, with zero cryptography experience, who had met in an online true-crime forum. Kathryn Miles tells you how, and the result is a must for any puzzle fan. Most experts, […]
What’s the Future of Solitary Confinement?
“Frank DePalma. . . . found comfort in the absence of light.”


