“How Jos Leijdekkers turned Sierra Leone into a drug-dealer’s paradise.”
Crime
Posted inEditor's Pick
A True-Crime Producer Posed as an Heiress — Then Allegedly Stole $30 Million
“Mary Carole McDonnell made low-budget crime shows, but her own story was built on deceptions fit for one of her series. Now, she’s on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and the target of a global manhunt.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Welcome to the Age of AI Crime and Punishment
“America’s legal system is already grappling with cases where chatbots acted as lawyers and witnesses, generated the evidence, or helped plan a mass shooting. Who will be liable now that some AI agents are doing crimes all on their own?”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Bad medicine, imperfect sound forever, know when to fold ’em, brainiacs, and a call of the wild.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Bad Cards
“How a $168,000 Michael Jordan rookie card rocked the $15 billion trading card industry.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Phone Scammers Next Door
“An ambitious young couple, a multimillion-dollar swindle and the sting that brought them down.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Six Teenagers, a Brutal Murder and the Story They Couldn’t Take Back
“In 2002, a group of friends from North Carolina told a story that ruined all their lives. What if it wasn’t true?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
No Return
“Did an experienced alpinist leave his girlfriend to die at the top of a mountain?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Why Is Florida Executing So Many Prisoners?
“In most of the country, executions are a thing of the past. But one state has been carrying them out at a record pace.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Inside the Food Truck Mafia Wreaking Havoc Around the National Mall
“Turf wars. Food and fire hazards. $15 ice-cream cones. How an organized network of unlicensed food trucks took over America’s Front Lawn.”