In this edition: Eschatolgy, Texas style; dancing like nobody’s watching; the men, they myths, the legends; monumental responses; and notes fit for a King.
fraud
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Hockey Dad, a Cartel, and a $12 Million Fraud
“Kota Youngblood told his neighbors there were hits out on their lives — and only he could save them.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive.
“A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Student Behind a Phishing Empire
“£100m stolen across Europe . . . How did Ollie Holman do it?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Joan Lowell and the Birth of the Modern Literary Fraud
“A century ago, an aspiring actress published a remarkable autobiography. She made up most of it.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Scammer Next Door
“In India, an era of glaring inequality is also a golden age of fraud.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
My Scammer
“I responded to one of those spam texts from a “recruiter”—then took the job. It got weirder than I could have imagined.”
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Sharing stories from John Woodrow Cox, Sarah Blaskey, and Matt McClain; Daphne Chouliaraki Milner and Marcia Bjornerud; Susan Choi; Henry Wismayer; and Susannah Pratt.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Two Lives of William Woods
“One man was telling the truth; the other was living a lie.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘A Billion Streams and No Fans’: Inside a $10 Million AI Music Fraud Case
“A chart-topping jazz album! Loads of Spotify and Apple Music plays! Just one problem: The success might not be real.”