Reporting
A Surf Legend’s Long Ride
For Jock Sutherland, being hailed as the world’s best surfer was just one phase in an unlikely life.
Are We Doomed? Here’s How to Think About It
Climate change, artificial intelligence, nuclear annihilation, biological warfare—the field of existential risk is a way to reason through the dizzying, terrifying headlines.
Can State Supreme Courts Preserve—or Expand—Rights?
With a lopsided conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court, progressive activists are seeking legal opportunities in state constitutions.
Will Mexico Decide the U.S. Election?
Top officials from the two countries are wrangling over immigration policy. What they resolve will have huge implications on both sides of the border.
Behind the Scenes of a Short-Lived Broadway Musical
The theatre director Rachel Chavkin is known for unconventional hits such as “Hadestown.” Why did her latest Broadway project fail to catch on?
The Detroit Pistons Were My Father’s Second Family
Jack McCloskey built a championship team that was both loved and loathed. I only began to appreciate who he was years later.
Piecing Together the Secrets of the Stasi
After the Berlin Wall fell, agents of East Germany’s secret police frantically tore apart their records. Archivists have spent the past thirty years trying to restore them.
How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed, the Dangers of Forever Chemicals
The company found its own toxic compounds in human blood—and kept selling them.
Is “Love Is Blind” a Toxic Workplace?
Reality-TV contestants are barely paid, and the experience can feel like abuse. Former cast members of Netflix’s megahit are speaking out—and calling for solidarity.