My Letter From Oliver Sacks
Migraines, 3D magic, and an unlikely correspondence from one “incredibly stereoscopic person” to another.
Personalities
A collection of 122 issues
Ars Erotica
What one woman labels kinky, another person calls a crime against cake. Offering a taxonomy of erotic fixations.
In the Wilderness
A young girl in South Dakota—the last school-age child remaining in her community—epitomizes the challenges of rural American Judaism.
Three Feet by Six Feet by Three Feet
A visit to the granddaddy of Japan’s capsule hotels—with cot-sized individual spaces and shared amenities—and a lesson in different methods of getting along.
The Gambler
In which the novelist and magician Tim O’Brien makes the author disappear, and a family funeral puts a father’s sleight of hand on full display.
The Combination Lock Test
A man dies, leaving behind, among other things, a combination lock. Opening it may just prove the existence of the afterlife.
Happiness Is a Pink Gun
Mainstream country music is dominated by bros singing about girls in cutoffs and drinking tequila. But some female country artists are ready to exchange fire.
Who Goes There
The Heartbleed Bug exposed a well-known secret: Passwords suck. But that’s really nothing new—just ask the Romans. Explaining the password’s past and future.
Dancer in the Dark
An American ballerina makes headlines when she says the Bolshoi Ballet wanted a bribe to let her perform. The company denies her accusation. But a small library in Virginia knew about it first.
All the President’s Killers
Fifty years after Dallas, an illustrated guide to every person, plot, and nefarious organization ever accused of killing JFK.
A Few Brief Remarks
Lincoln’s speech at Gettysburg was short: only three minutes long, following a moving, two-hour performance by famed orator Edward Everett. It also was nearly meaningless.
Brief Interviews With Very Small Publishers
Magazine publishing is a dark art. But the world of niche publishing—people who create magazines for necrophiliacs or donkey hobbyists, or for those of us who like to ride really small trains—features its own requirements.
The Window Cleaner
Dirt is difficult to see on glass. That’s why so many people don't bother to hire a professional for the job—they just can’t see what’s wrong.
A Sudden and Awful Manner
In early New England, anyone who stood near an open door or window faced mortal danger. A conversation with a woman who hunts for gravestones with epitaphs describing death by lightning strike.
No One Is Innocent
Think baseball today is rotten from drugs and punks? A century ago, things weren’t much better. A brief history of baseball's dark traditions—cheating, substance abuse, obscenity, violence—and the colorful players who brought them to life.
The Works and Days of Elena Shvarts
A literary gumshoe visits St. Petersburg to track down the so-called “ninja of Russian verse,” Elena Shvarts, who died in 2010 leaving almost nothing behind.
Crack Rock City
This week, Detroit’s new emergency manager released his first report on the city’s dire affairs. But residents have long been accustomed to life in what’s essentially a failed state. A native author meets the motorcycle men working hard to save Detroit, one fiend at a time.
Night Vision
An unexpected pregnancy, tuna sandwiches consumed in darkness, and woman after woman of a certain age living by the ocean—eventually, all connections make sense when it comes to prescient grandparents.
Pause, Panic, Gringo
When your name prompts questions in several continents, how you answer—and whether or not you stick an accent above the “a”—says a lot about who you are.
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.
Smoke the Fire
Hank Williams III blew the doors off country music last fall when he released three ambitious, experimental albums all on the same day. A conversation about tradition, hardcore, and punishment.
Burn All the Liars
An unfinished autobiography and a 1980s biopic turned Frances Farmer, one of the great golden-era stars, into a lobotomized zombie. The main trouble: Frances Farmer wasn’t lobotomized. An investigation to set one of Hollywood’s most convoluted stories straight.
Tallahassle
Florida is America’s most-abused state, and Tallahassee its biggest target for bi-coastal writers who pick low-hanging fruit—rednecks, old people—and wouldn’t know an alligator from their elbow. The slander has gone far enough. On behalf of every Tallahussey and T-Town man, let the corrections begin
Where the Choices Are Endless
After a childhood in the country, awaking as a freshman in a college town, where the inhabitants are willing and strange.
Six and a Half Billion People Are Absolutely Right
The N.F.L. is corrupt, baseball's a distant dream, and March Madness is only one month long. Here's why any true sports fan watches soccer.
David Remnick
Our man in Boston goes the distance with author and New Yorker editor David Remnick in a conversation about President Obama, magazine publishing, and American Idol.
Michael Ondaatje
Our man in Boston talks to Michael Ondaatje about why he writes novels, how he measures satisfaction, and when fiction can succeed by operating like poetry.
Murderer, Thief, Whoremonger, Cheat
This summer marks the quadricentennial of Henry Hudson's joyride to Albany--a celebration steeped in blood and greed.
You Are Not Cool
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is known for writing colorful decisions, full of “gobbledegook” and even John Lennon quotes. But whatever his legal philosophy, one thing he isn’t is cool.
Iggy Pop Lusts for Life
More than four decades into his career as a rock mentor, Iggy Pop talks about getting back with the Stooges and finding a daily rhythm that suits him.
Personagem: Talking With Arto Lindsay
After 30 years of making some of the Western Hemisphere's most adventurous music, you’d think a guy could take some time off. Patrick Ambrose talks with the ex-DNA leader about art, music, and the origins of his unique guitar style.
The GTA Crunk: Props from a Self-Skooled Rapologist
You should not hate the player; however, you should hate the game. Pasha Malla infiltrates the centre of underground hip-hop culture that is Toronto, ON, and returns with stories of being skooled and seeing bling. Def!
Hero of the Year
Reality television has been popular for a lot longer than you might think, and it’s only going to get bigger. Once we get rid of the news networks and install an awards show, that is. Our writer broadcasts a signal from the Wellys.
Fame!
It’s one thing to be Mario Lopez and have a single claim to the history books, but it’s quite another to distinguish your celebrity with a striking, but unrecognized achievement. OUr writer takes a look at three famous men, not necessarily known for inventing chewing gum or cornering the pencil mark
Tourist Travails
Living abroad means you’re not quite a tourist—you have an address, after all—but you’re certainly not a local. What are you? Our writer reports from several recent trips around Egypt, trailed by scantily clad visitors.
Street Art
It’s art, it’s play, it’s political protest—no matter what it’s called, street art is all around us, changing the face of our cities when no one’s looking. So what is it exactly? We round up some of the legends of the scene to talk about the history of street art, and where it’s headed next.
That’s My Vader...
Some days you've got it, other days you don't. And some days, you’re the dark lord of the Sith. What it would be like if Darth Vader spent a day in his shoes, speaking only in memorable quotes from the original Star Wars.
Craigslist in Baghdad: Missed Connections
Some people are there to sell a cheap computer. Others to divulge a personal rant, but let’s face it: Most people go to Craigslist for the missed connections.
Rum Diary
Watching Hunter Thompson watch himself on Charlie Rose, when neither Thompson is comprehensible, can be difficult to follow. Paris Review senior editor Oliver Broudy offers a memorial, remembering a party when Thompson held court.
Memento Mori
Who was Hunter S. Thompson? To everyone who followed him, he was somebody different. Our writer remembers his reading life with the Good Doctor.
Short, Cautionary Tales
Hotel bombings and terrorism aside, it’s the daily alien frustrations and local rituals that put the grit into living abroad. Our writer reports from Cairo on the small infuriations that make her city unique.
Revolution Rock
If rock music used to have a message, then rarely was that message stronger than for South American revolutionaries, for whom it was a significant part of the struggle. Patrick Ambrose traces a history of social uprising, and explains how the music helped fuel it.
Forever Changing
Arthur Lee—songwriter, social critic, and leader of ’60s rock band Love—is finally back after an extended absence. Our writer witnesses Lee and his newly re-formed band play their classic album, Forever Changes, in concert and talks to him about what it meant then and still means today.
Talking With Alex Ross
Classical music was said to be dead in the 14th century, so why are we still holding it hostage? We talk with New Yorker music critic Alex Ross about the state of the art, which composers might appeal to different segments of rock fans, and exactly what he listens to at dinner.
Home, Jeeves, Jonathan
Wouldn’t it be nice, when you’re on the verge of a big mistake, to have a personal butler escort you home? Author Jonathan Ames thinks so, in telling Pitchaya Sudbanthad about his new book, what he’s learned recently, and what it’s like to write for TV.
Return to Sender
In the final installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer returns home with a heart full of remembrance for the experiences she’s had, as well as for friends she’s made in her time abroad.
A Day at the Races
In the eighth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer blissfully listens to a talking head, then turns around and runs for her life.
Take the Downtown Train
If more men know what’s under the hood of a car than the hood of a clitoris, surely a revolution is needed. Enthusiast Paul Ford interviews Ian Kerner, sex therapist and author of She Comes First: The Thinking Man’s Guide to Pleasuring a Woman.
One Ring Zero
Not many people can play the claviola, and fewer still can use it to accompany lyrics by Neil Gaiman or Margaret Atwood. Pitchaya Sudbanthad talks to Michael Hearst and Joshua Camp of One Ring Zero, band of a thousand authors.
Bulgarian Rhapsody
In the seventh installment of her letters from Scotland, our letter jets to Sofia to meet a friend, explores the city in all its relative weirdness, and learns to speak, or at least gesture, a new language.
Hobbledehoydom
Being shy or bad at dancing is common for teenage boys, but some men carry on long into adulthood—men who are also called hobbledehoys. Our writer, a self-confessed hobbledehoy, finds company in Trollope while updating the profile for contemporary times.
Pinstriped Portraits
We know our bombers like the backs of our hands—Jeter, Matsui, now the almighty A-Rod—but who exactly are the Yankees’ fans? And is there more to life than hating the Red Sox? Our man in Albany TOBIAS SEAMON finds out what ticks for a few diehard New York fans.
Term Break Fashion
In the sixth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, considers the weather on her term break, then jaunts down to London and attends an alternative fashion show.
Swimming
Spalding Gray’s body was identified this past Monday, having been pulled from the East River after he committed suicide. Pitchaya Sudbanthad remembers the actor and monologuist.
Lazy Sunday Afternoon
In the fifth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, settles into a routine abroad, learns from a friend how she needs to break away from the everyday, then does her Sunday shopping.
The Housewife’s Hay Market
“Crime and Punishment” is still so modern we can relate to its passions and fits, and, if we know where to look, even its landmarks. Eleven stops of modern St. Petersburg.
Now Here Is Nowhere
The Secret Machines’ full-length debut, “Now Here is Nowhere,” breaks new boundaries both sonically and legally: it’s being released in digital format today. Our writer chats with guitarist Benjamin Curtis and drummer Josh Garza.
A Calm Uncharacteristic
In the fourth installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, visits Italy, where she marvels at people and architecture, and can never seem to elude those church bells.
Bright Nights, Big Mountains
The Sundance Film Festival may have a hard time maintaining its indie credibility, but as a magnet for celebrities there is little doubt about its powers. After a few days of film in Park City,our writer looks back.
London Calling
In the third installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer, who is living in Edinburgh for a year, visits London, where she fights crowds and considers looting the British Museum.
Quick Change Terrain
In the second installment of her letters from Scotland, our writer watches “Neighbors,” hits the Highlands, and meets the most helpful shaggy dog in Scotland.
The Love That We Came to Know
Love! Romance! Roller skates! Xanadu actor Michael Beck comes to town, and SARAH HEPOLA reflects on what the movie meant to an entire generation of little girls (and boys) who wanted to be Olivia Newton-John.
Strangers in the Night
Since the great Columbia University scandal of 1984, paranormal investigations have had a bad rap in the United States, at least on the East coast. Seattle writer MATTHEW BALDWIN joins up with A.G.H.O.S.T. for a night of spirit seeking.
Early Broadcasting
What happens when a ten-year-old enters the ranks of ham-radio enthusiasts and Dirty Old Men? Our writer remembers his friends, his call letters, and his place in broadcast history. No ham or ham-product punnery included.
Colorful Lullabies
In the first of her series of letters from Scotland, our writer moves into her flat, learns the Scottish hoedown, and goes on a countryside jaunt that turns out to be anything but “Withnail & I.”
One Hit Wonder
Forty-five years ago this Sunday, Chuck Lindstrom got his first hit in his first major-league baseball game. He didn’t know that it would be his last of each.
Certifiable
Sure, teaching isn’t for everyone. Finding that out may be difficult, but the awful truth that drives many out of the classroom, screaming, is even harder to lern learn. Our writer was a teacher.
Clueless in Academe: An Interview with Gerald Graff
Professors complain that each year’s batch of students are more clueless than the last, but could they be the ones in the dark? Our writer interviews author and academic Gerald Graff on who’s to blame for the failures in our classrooms.
Neocons, Midwives, and Me
After Ozzfest and Gigli, Howard Dean was the show to see this summer. Ace reporter Matthew ‘Punch’ Baldwin attended a rally with two friends who, for very different reasons, want Dean to win the primary.
The Stitch Service
Big scoops don’t often happen to little towns, so when a delegation arrives from Ukrania, you can bet it’s front-page news.
Troubling New Events
Maybe it’s something to do with the harmonies, maybe it’s the way it just makes you feel good. You might not want to admit it, but your toes are definitely tapping.
Here She Is…Miss American Idol
Justin! Kelly! Justin!! Kelly!!!! A throng of adoring fans in Burleson, Texas, welcomes Kelly Clarkson and co-star at her hometown stop on their movie tour. Our writer witnesses the mayhem.
Pervert
Apple Computer is well-known for its excellent customer service, but what happens when they’re liable for your perversions?
The Witch of Dove Street
Amidst gutters draining the wrong way, strange happenings in nature, and loneliness, Tobias Seamon lived in a witch’s house. Better pet the cat for good luck.
Washington Gothic
Within the halls of Washington, D.C., lurks a stench of unsolved crimes, muttering highwaymen, and altogether strange behavior. Our writer peers into the capital’s dark corners.
To Tell You the Truth
As the journalism world feeds on its own frenzy, SARAH HEPOLA confronts an intimate past with exposed Times fabricator Jayson Blair, and her own history of exaggeration.
Seven Steps to the Perfect Mix
We know it’s ill-advised to drop Blonde Redhead next to word jazz, but our mixes are still hopeless. Jennifer Conrad talks with Isaac Green of the StarTime International record label about putting together the best mix tape ever.
Selections From My Most Wanted
The U.S. printed the 55 most-wanted Iraqis on a deck of cards to enable both easy apprehension and quick games of rummy. But its villains aren’t the only ones on the loose. JOHN WARNER deals a more personal hand.
Walking the Rx Red Carpet
Where do you get the scoop on the drug industry’s hot new products? Why, at the Rx spring show, that’s where! Our writer makes nice with the celebrated followers of pharmaceuticals.
Page Daze
Low-rung employees at Saturday Night Live may not make Lorne’s salary, but they do get to hobnob with the weird and wonderful.
An Interview With the Dolphin
Many were surprised when the U.S. Navy announced it was using dolphins for mine-sweeping in the war with Iraq. Even more were stunned when one of the dolphins went AWOL. Submerged reporter PAUL FORD gets the interview.
A Good Day To Be Alive
A conversation about life as a wino, the effects of war, heroin, Shiner, marriage and pornography, horseplay and jail, and the amount of muscles it takes to frown, between William and Sarah Hepola.
75,000,000 Toddlers Can't Be Wrong
Steve Burns, the former host of Nickleodeon's kids show Blue's Clues, has embarked on a new career path: musician.
Albany, Counting the Ways
The heart of New York may be in the five boroughs, but its gear box is buried under snow in Albany. Upstater Tobias Seamon reports on the many reasons to love a seedy town of secrets, bosses, and smoke-filled rooms.
Accidental Strength
Princeton graduate Ung Lee wins prestige, cash, and a number of prizes for his fiction thesis. The hitch is, one of the stories was stolen. The author whose work was robbed responds.
Josh’s Creepily Prescient Oscar Picks
It’s Oscar time again. But before you drop your paycheck in the office pool on who will snag Best Supporting Whatever, peruse these dead-on predictions for the winners.
Starfucker
Meeting and interviewing (and yes, dating) the stars proves tiresome for even the most well-seasoned of celebrity-worshippers. The life of lies and junkets, however, makes for the best party conversation.
NYC vs. LA
The exodus to Los Angeles is growing. Our writer goes for a drive with public speaker and gallery curator Brendan Fowler, discussing life and art in the apple vs. the crapple.
Designer Kidnappings
New York has a service for every customer, even those who want to be kidnapped.
Joe Mitchell's Secret
Considered the best profile writer New York's ever seen, Joseph Mitchell's influence is unfortunately on the wane. Why today's prose-makers have lost their way.
Sympathy for the Deviled Eggs
Christmas has its fans and foes, but the tanenbaum-crazed, decked in holiday sweaters, are a different story.
The Army Wives Club
There is life as a civilian, life as a soldier, and then something in-between: a soldier’s spouse. Army wife Nicole Hunter reports on the glamour, stress, and rewards of life on the base.
Roundtable: Academia
What happens when you put five academics together and talk about the future of higher learning, the intricacies of tenure, and whether or not American high-schoolers are really learning anything?
To the Teen Beat of His Own Drummer
Maybe you only know him as "the other one" from Weird Science, but Ilan Mitchell-Smith is a former actor turned real human being (and Ph.D. candidate, no less).
It's Not Easy Being Green
Sometimes the best person for the job actually gets it. With a good friend running for political office in Maine, our writer hits the campaign trail.
Requiem for Boddy
A somber moment, remembering a departed friend. Reflecting on a life of wartime heroics, stateside baronism, and missed opportunities, Matthew Baldwin takes the podium and says a few words.
It's a Grave Undertaking
Pun-master and self-described “hauntrepreneur” Doug Antreassian offers a unique service in Salem, Mass.: a hearse-driven tour of the town describing past crimes and present. Our writer reports from spook-central.
The Macca Attack
The “cute Beatle” has long been loved by many, but his tallied transgressions have dropped him out of some people’s favor. Finding a new favorite Beatle.
Windows to Byzantium
There are not many stories that combine the Yankees, Babies Hospital, gardens, Yeats, Hello Kitty, and death. Tobias Seamon has one, and names the names.
Credit in the Straight World
In bad economic times, it’s hard to be picky about your job. Ex-Screw editor Jonah Cassidy is still writing, though now about petroleum, not porn.