Manchester’s Cold War
A piece looking at the extraordinary lengths football clubs will go to to find and recruit young players.
Inside the Glowing-Plant Startup That Just Gave up Its Quest
The grand vision was to bioengineer plants that emitted enough light for practical purposes such as domestic lighting or street lamps. The vision did not come to pass.
The Drug Runners
The story of the Tarahumara people of Northern Mexico, used by drug cartels to smuggle due to their capacity to run extremely long distances.
The Biggest Secret
The author relates his experience as a New York Times investigative reporter covering the War on Terror, and outlines the pressure that journalists come under from governments to censor stories and reveal sources.
A Kingdom from Dust
A profile of the biggest farmers in the US “a married couple working in partnership” and the story of their extraordinary rise via floor cleaning, security, plastic figurines, advertising, and philanthropy. Their story is also now the story of water in California as the yields from their crops continue to increase just as the water supply has declined through nearly a half-decade of drought.
Swamp Thing
A profile of Nick Ayers, US Vice President Mike Pence’s 35-year-old chief of staff, looking at the influential role he plays in protecting his boss. The piece delves into his rapid rise, the sources of his surprisingly large net worth and his numerous potential conflicts of interest.
Queens of Infamy: Anne Boleyn
An irreverent but warm reappraisal of Anne Boleyn and “Tudor England’s big-sleeved game of thrones”.
An Oral History of GoldenEye 007 on the N64
A history of the iconic video game that changed the industry and helped significantly develop the genre of first-person shooters, delivered by the people who made it.
Across the Broken Bridge
An essay examining smuggling activities taking place along the China-North Korea border.