The Year That Was and Wasn’t
We asked some of our favorite journalists, writers, and thinkers: What were the most important events of 2020, and what were the least?
crime
A collection of 43 issues
Disarm an Angry Uncle Like a Pro
Make it through a family holiday gathering in one piece with these tactics from the FBI’s former lead international kidnapping negotiator.
Dark Waters
Some of the world’s largest, oldest fish live in Oregon. Why anyone would want to vandalize them, even abduct them, takes explaining.
The Messenger
From “Truth Trucks” to viral videos, Operation Rescue head Troy Newman’s word is his sword.
Hunting the Hound
A lifelong phobia is the result of a terrifying childhood incident. But the real culprit may be Arthur Conan Doyle.
Crimewatcher
The victim of a robbery starts attending trials in New Orleans to understand the system while her burglar serves time in jail. Then he gets out.
Mrs. Bundy
For the mother of a serial killer, a chance to connect with victims on live TV offers a shot at redemption.
What #Pobrezafilia Means for Mexico
Photos of poor, brown-skinned women, naked, in sexually suggestive poses, are flooding social-media networks.
Lo que #Pobrezafilia significa para México
Fotos de mujeres pobres, morenas, desnudas en posiciones sexualmente sugestivas están inundando las redes sociales en México.
City to Rapper: Drop Dead
This summer’s ongoing war between Chief Keef and Rahm Emanuel is as much about urban history as holograms.
Paper Citizen
America is a proud nation of immigrants—try telling that to everyone on the other side of the door. Life as a white-collar undocumented immigrant in New York.
Hit Job
An unusual DEA raid on one of LA’s most reputable medical marijuana dispensaries reveals the bewildering conflict between state and federal drug laws.
The Marlboro Men of Chernivtsi
Where there’s smoke, there’s smuggling. Before the Ukrainian border became a dangerous war zone, it was a profitable bootlegging arena.
The Dosa Gentrification
Indian culture is under siege by Westerners enamored with yoga, authenticity, and convenience. The dosa—a beloved, inconvenient tradition—could be next to fall.
Chicago Fear
Life in a city, including its dangers, can be evaluated in a thousand ways. But dangerous and scary are different adjectives, and different measurements. Especially after a man appears below your stairs.
Crime Reported
Lawbreaking occurs, a man calls for help, the police detain an endless lineup of men. Sometimes fraud comes as no surprise.
Gentlemen, Formerly
A gentleman in 1720 could read Greek while mounting a running horse. Today’s gentleman reads GQ in the bathroom. From rapists to stylists, a history of the American gentleman.
Poor Sochi
Our Russia hand submits a roll-up of all the corruption, crises, ill-preparedness, highways paved with French luggage, and other #sochiproblems surrounding Putin’s graft-gutted Winter Olympics.
Do Not Endure Verbal, Emotional, or Physical Abuse
Offered an opportunity to help a father reach out to his young daughter, a writer agrees to assist. But the challenge isn’t as simple as grammar and commas.
Editors' Favorites From 2013
The staff choose their most-liked pieces published in 2013: a trip to Patsy Cline's divided hometown, the complete biography of North West, a cold case of hit-and-run, and no shortage of great quotes about dead bodies.
Dressed to Kill
Real-life villains to inspire costumes, including the conquistador so horrible the king of Spain made it a crime to say his name.
My Brief, Binding Road
Since the closing down of Silk Road, the number of drug dealers selling online has increased nearly 50 percent. A former customer waits in fear, wondering why he used his real name.
The Bolshoi in the Dark
Rough waters for Russia’s fabled Bolshoi Theatre have prompted soul-searching among the country’s dancers, officials, and fans.
Mumbai Moment
Mumbai could be thought of as New York, LA, and Lagos all wrapped into one. But a string of rapes changes all that.
Cool Colors
This summer in Manhattan, it was important to wait in line for an hour to see light designed by James Turrell. Many bought the hype. Many were angry afterward.
Chiraq, Drillinois
Originating on the South Side, drill music has attracted major labels to Chicago in search of young rappers—as gang violence turns the city into the murder capital. Each has everything to do with the other.
Hiss and Hers
When you fall for someone, you fall for everything that comes with them: their beliefs, their passions, and American history’s most infamous typewriter.
When Writers Sing
Sometimes covers of songs can feel more genuine than the original recorded versions. At a time when “Glee” is under fire for stealing covers and Justin Bieber is covering himself, one author tries his hand at covering a fictional musician from his new novel.
What to Expect When You’re Electing
Small donations comprise more than half of President Obama’s war chest. Small donors, on the other hand, constitute some of the world’s most overwhelmed email recipients. But all that follow-up isn’t just about cash—it’s about subtle changes being made inside your head.
The Heretic
For decades, the U.S. government banned medical studies of the effects of LSD. But for one longtime, elite researcher, the promise of mind-blowing revelations was just too tempting.
The Demands of Cold Blood
When a crime reporter is told an outlandish account, his first obligation is to establish the facts. But when the story turns out to be a conspiracy, it can knock his sense of duty until it cracks.
On the Beat
In a North Carolina mountain town, the cops are good old boys, the sheriff’s a teddy bear, and the chief conducts drug raids in his head. All of which spells nothing good for a Mexican caught with a carful of guns, or for the town’s “Cop Beat” reporter.
John Banville
Booker Prize-winner John Banville discusses writing crime novels under a pseudonym, hanging around with authors who own multiple homes, and why literature takes longer to produce than pulp.
Cosa Nostalgia
How Hyman Roth's quip in The Godfather: Part II picks up on a cinematic pastime, and exposits layer upon layer of information about his character.
America’s Most Frozen
Rapists, murderers, human traffickers—this winter, sedentary criminals are rife in the nation’s parks. Photos of the 11 worst suspects.
The Alternate
Few people want jury duty, but at least most jurors seated for trial get the satisfaction of passing judgment. For one writer, being an alternate becomes a tale of miscarried justice.
Murder and the Masseuse
Many of us imagine killing our bosses; some people actually take it a little further. Meet a woman who got into the massage business to avoid a homicide rap.
What It Means to Miss New Orleans
The accuracy of Fox's new police drama K-Ville can only be known by the cops working in post-Katrina New Orleans. An interview with Police Lieutenant Bryant Wininger, who explains where the real drama still is, free of storylines and plot twists.
Web Noir
When writing for online magazines, crime doesn't always pay--but it can earn you a fashionable T-shirt. Investigating the current era of crime fiction on the web and the magazines that are making new voices heard.
Chicken
Don’t know art but know what you like? How would you like to buy some art and never receive it? Falling for a painting and getting something unexpected in return.
Brushes With the Law
Who knew what evil once lurked in our hearts? Arsonists, accomplices, troublemakers all, here are nine lives of crime, cut short.
Gone Missing
With so many people gone missing these days, what do you do when your loved one’s gone too? Hire a private detective, that’s what you do! Our writer is hot on a trail of stunning clues.
Designer Kidnappings
New York has a service for every customer, even those who want to be kidnapped.