John and his mother Ann, who live in a house in Pretoria, South Africa, were two victims of faulty IP address mapping — and the U.S. government played a big role in the mess.
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Ethan Watters, Rachel Monroe, Barry Yeoman, Tom Scocca, and Sarah Gailey.
The Daughter as Detective
A bibliophile tries to understand her father through his favorite Swedish mystery books.
The Prisoners Left Behind
Recreational cannabis is now legal in eight states and the District of Columbia, yet many people convicted of nonviolent cannabis trafficking crimes now wallow in prison with life sentences without parole. President Obama’s clemency program offered to help these low-level drug offenders receive reduced prison sentences, but the program was flawed. Now that Trump’s in […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Elizabeth Weil, Leah McSweeney and Jacob Siegel, Paul Kiel and Jesse Eisinger, Sean Patrick Cooper, and Priya Krishna.
The Voyeur of Queen and Spadina
But I’m a creep / I’m a weirdo / What the hell am I doing here? / I don’t belong here
Who’s Killing Buck Birdsong’s Cows?
Someone poisoned eighteen of the Birdsong family’s calves in the past four years by feeding them a mysterious grain. But who? And why? Texas Monthly writer-at-large Leif Reigstad digs into a confounding true-crime cold case with no leads, no motive, no patterns, and no suspects.
The Problem With Nostalgia
Michael Musto argues that wearing rose-colored glasses always leads to an unfair distortion — looking back on the best of the past while comparing it to the worst of the present.
The Problem With Nostalgia
Michael Musto argues that wearing rose-colored glasses always leads to an unfair distortion — looking back on the best of the past while comparing it to the worst of the present.
The Bigamist’s Daughter
Robin Antalek considers the legacy of the man who abandoned her for another family and never looked back.

