“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.”
journalism
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Anatomy of a Journalism Scandal
“The first time ‘The New York Times’ had lost a defamation case in over half a century.”
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
A Teen Reporter Searched for His Community in the Epstein Files. Adults Freaked Out.
“An Instagram post turned one California student newspaper into a free-speech flash point. The students say they were just doing their homework.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
“That Guy is Still Out There”
“Five years after Anthony Broadwater was belatedly cleared for the sexual assault of Alice Sebold, the questions of how he came to be wrongly convicted and how one or more serial rapists operated for years with little consequence have only deepened.”
Posted inFeature
Curiosity as Compassion: A Conversation with Susan Orlean
Why it’s important to cultivate resilience and curiosity as a writer.
Posted inReading List
Brave New World: A Reading List About the Dark Future
Five stories that make Aldous Huxley’s 1932 novel feel like nonfiction.
Posted inEditor's Pick
ChatGPT Gave Me Chilling Advice—as I Simulated Planning a Mass Shooting
“I asked about imitating the Uvalde attacker, defending against police gunfire, and more—everything short of directly stating intent to kill.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
ISpyForGood
“On any given day I was seen as both valuable and disposable, sometimes oscillating between these in the same hour.”