The Doctor
Tom Catena is the only doctor for thousands of miles in South Sudan, living and working in the midst of a brutal civil war. This article examines life for ‘Doctor Tom’ and his team.
The Voyeur’s Motel
A man bought a motel 30 or so years ago, installed a home engineered viewing platform above the rooms and set about snooping on his customers with gusto for the next 30 years. He did so with a pseudo-scientific agenda that led him to document what he saw in minute detail. The resulting document is an extraordinary, ghoulish blend – a detailed study of this man’s madness, the intimate lives of the people he spied on, and the changing nature of America over the last quarter of the 20th century. Simply the most extraordinary story, it will stay with you for some time.
How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and Stole Millions
This story of how an inside man perpetrated a huge fraud on McDonald’s multi-million dollar Monopoly sweepstake is made for cinema. It in fact appears likely to make it to the big screen, as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are reported to have started work on a film version.
Anthony Bourdain’s Moveable Feast
A 2017 profile of the much loved broadcaster and writer Anthony Bourdain, who died this week.
Style Is an Algorithm
A piece examining the somewhat terrifying possibility of entirely algorithmically driven cultural tastes, from fashion to art, music, food, home decor and more. It asks what our response is to the central promise of recommendation algorithms “If you like this, you will get more of it, forever” and the new value exchanges that are their outcome.
The Lottery Hackers: Jerry and Marge Go Large
The story of a retiree couple that succeeding in cracking the lottery, through a mixture of maths and the hard graft required to buy thousands upon thousands of tickets. It was almost plain sailing – until they ran into some competition.
The strange figures behind a secret trade
McMafia author Misha Glenny digs into the sophisticated organised crime networks behind the rhino poaching trade.
Regrets? Chris Christie has a few
An exit interview with a politician who has had a fascinating arc – a popular and successful first term and an increasing national profile leading into scandal, crash and burn. The piece offers genuine insight into the psyche of a political operator.
George OsborneÕs Revenge
A profile of George Osborne and his renewed lease of political life as editor of the Evening Standard. The piece contains insider comment including a memorable line they report the former chancellor throwing out about Theresa May – that he won’t stop until she is “is chopped up in bags in my freezer”.
Cricket historian, writer, surgeon, spy: the mad world of Major Rowland Bowen
An account of a life less ordinary.