This piece kicks off with an evocative depiction of the scene typically found at the V.I.P. terminal of Baghdad International Airport. It was there where in April 2017 a group of Qataris were held on arrival when their luggage was found to contain $360 million in cash. Their presence was linked to a royal hunting trip turned kidnapping that would significantly affect the Middle East’s geopolitics.
An account of the unexplained health issues encountered by US Embassy staff in Havana, particularly those that were intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover. The incident has had an enduring impact on America’s diplomatic capabilities in Cuba at a pivotal moment of transition.
Whilst we look for alien life on other planets, this piece examines ctenophores – creatures closer to home that are “profoundly different from any other animal on Earth” – so much so in fact that they may be on an entirely different evolutionary path to their planetary cohabitants.
An insightful piece from the BBC World Affairs correspondent examines the complex ethical and editorial challenges of reporting on the horrors of the war waged by ISIS.
An ambitious piece looking at observer selection effect – where a data set’s composition or properties are correlated with the very existence of its observer. The first example the piece calls on is an analysis of planes returning from WWII bombing raids with the goal of identifying which areas of the fuselage to reinforce, but it rapidly expands in scope to extinction events for our world, and our universe.
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 remarkable life story of Ron Porambo, a crusading investigative journalist, whose achievements in reporting riots in 1960s Newark were eventually obscured by his own criminal exploits.
A wide ranging look at recent advances in criminal forensics, from using hair for DNA matches, to the value of teeth bite matches, fingerprinting, arson investigations and facial reconstruction.
When he wasn’t satisfied with the answers to his questions about his son’s death in police custody, a preacher in Louisiana decided to investigate himself.
The story of five different Houston residents as they faced Hurricane Harvey.