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.
Profiles
A collection of 211 issues
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.
Main Street, USA
Sinclair Lewis despised his hometown in Minnesota. It disliked him, too, especially after being lampooned in a bestselling novel that mocked the citizens for their small-town ways. These days, though, he's all they've got.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Whither Greatness
Economic recession. Climate disaster. Chaos in the Middle East. The world cries out for leaders who will face our biggest dilemmas, and all we get are short-sighted narcissists. Where are the great leaders of today?
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.
Rumors of Tribes
At one school, the popular girls were called the “chicken patties,” but the jocks were just the “jocks.” How teenage crowds get named.