A conversation about God, anxiety, and the monkey.

The Los Angeles surgeon who can double your size for $13,000.

“This is a story about an entertainer named R. Kelly. It is a story about the remarkable, but also very strange, pop talent he has. It is a story about the difficult places he came from and the ways they may, or may not, have shaped who he has become. It is also the story of a man who has been publicly accused of multiple sexual offenses with underage women, and who stood trial for making child pornography. He was eventually acquitted of that charge, and his career has continued uninterrupted, but for the most part he has evaded even the most basic questions that might help people understand what is true about him. For this story, R. Kelly agreed to speak about his whole life without restrictions.”

When James Brown died on Christmas Day 2006, he left behind a fortune worth tens, maybe hundreds, of millions of dollars. The problem is, he also left behind fourteen children, sixteen grandchildren, eight mothers of his children, several mistresses, thirty lawyers, a former manager, an aging dancer, a longtime valet, and a sister who’s really not a sister but calls herself the Godsister of Soul anyway.

Sundays at Hillsong, the church that saved Justin Bieber.

“I faced death and all that shit. It’s my responsibility to come back and come back strong. It’s going to take more than a Walmart truck to take that gift away. I can’t wait to make you all laugh. Especially you, Mike. And I already did that today. So all is good.”

A conversation about leadership, Grantland, regret, and the President’s favorite conspiracy theories.

A conversation with “the most popular human alive.”

When rival gangs confronted each other in the parking lot of a Hooters-esque restaurant, bullets flew. But was the whole a police setup?

Ed Houben, a self described “ugly man,” has sex with multiple women each week, sometimes two in one day. The women, often accompanied by their husbands, are trying to get pregnant.

Inside the paranoid world of Nike headquarters, where people are worried that Adidas might finally be capable of taking over the sneaker industry.

Who killed four people in the French Alps?

Talking to Lee Daniels about Empire, Hollywood, and survival.

The Four Seasons restaurant rose to fame as a place to cut deals and be seen. Then its chauvinistic ways – and, specifically, those of its owner – caught up with it.

A reporter lounges at the exclusive club for months to study the beautiful people sipping rosé poolside—and whether they’re actually doing any work.

A long talk with Willie Nelson about pot.

The men and the women of the transactional-love economy. “A thing you should know is that there are very few people to root for in this story.”

The search for an Iraq veteran on the brink of suicide.

Confessions of a presidential campaign reporter.

Being a Muslim-American actor often means being really good at yelling “Allahu Akbar!” before someone kills you.

An investigation into serial killings in a small North Carolina city.

To date, more than 500 people have been killed by police in America. This is the story of one, Charly Keunang.

Spins from the DJs at Atlanta’s seminal Magic City strip club can turn nobodies into hip-hop stars.

The author was living in a friend’s basement after a bad breakup, unable to eat. Then he had lunch with Jacques Pépin.

The author visits City of Refuge in Pahokee, Florida, a community of more than 100 registered sex offenders.