A cat's eye will follow a tossed sock as quickly as a hummingbird's flight, and any fool can catch this culture's fancy. But only a handful of those who attract attention go on to become fixtures in a landscape that's given up on wondering why they'r...
Last spring the Cornell Review, a conservative student publication, published a parody--a description, in ebonics, of courses that might be taught in Cornell's Africana Studies and Resource Center. An excerpt from a prospective course, "Racism in Ame...
I dreamed I died and went to Cincinnati. Imagine my horror when I awoke and discovered that I was in Cincinnati. Only now it's moved and lies roughly between the new and improved Times Square, the new and improved 42nd Street, and the new and improve...
Rakesh Magan's criminal career was nothing spectacular--in an insurance scam, he set fire to his Salt Lake City grocery store, and then fled the state when police filed arson charges. But his capture earlier this year was altogether original: Magan b...
Although experts predict that the future will be dominated by a television-Internet hybrid, the boldest experiment to date in merging the two has stalled. On Monday, MSNBCthe love child of NBC and Microsoftannounced that approximately 50 employees,...
Lord British, ruler of Britannia, sat quietly at his throne, wondering if he should go on another tour of his kingdom. The people certainly would want to see their Lord and, gee, wouldn't he love to show off. The satin robe that had arrived last week...
ABC got a lot of flak this summer for its cynical ad campaign insisting that TV's guilty pleasures be indulged nonstop. Now in its "most aggressive fall launch ever," the third-place network, whether out of daring or desperation, is still hitting awa...
It is one thing to fight and lose. It is another to lose and win. The former involves miscalculating your chances. The latter involves accepting your losses up front. The latter is the cynic's move. Saddam Hussein sacrificed tens of thousands of la...
The MTA Procures Storm Surge Protection via the Catastrophe Bond Market
On October 28, 2012, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was staring down the barrel of a rocket launcher. In the last hours before Hurricane Sandy made landfall, the agency steeled itself… More >>
Type Miscast: An Elmhurst Doctor's Type 2 Diabetes Misdiagnosis Results in the Death of a Six-Year-Old Girl
The little girl could barely breathe. She lay on the hospital bed, her chest rising with each forced inhalation. Irma Nicanor held her only child's hand. The six-year-old's eyes were… More >>
Bill de Blasio's Elusive City Council Papers Raise More Questions Than They Answer
If Democratic primary winner Bill de Blasio is elected New York City's next mayor in November, one of his jobs will be to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in… More >>
Daniel McGowan: The FBI's Least Wanted
At six o'clock on a cool June morning, after five and a half years in federal prison and six months in a halfway house, Daniel McGowan went home. From the… More >>
Benjamin Lawsky: The Man Who Picked a Fight With Wall Street
Project Gazelle was a banker's dream. It was quiet, discreet, and made staggering piles of money catering to clients no one else would touch. The fact that it was also… More >>
Despite State Ban, Federal Inmate Ronell Wilson Is Sent to Death Row
In July, a U.S. District Court jury in New York sentenced Ronell Wilson to death for murdering two undercover cops in 2003. It was only the second time in half… More >>
