Longform

Read recent longform news stories on Newser.com

Stories 541 - 560 | << Prev   Next >>

Romania's Trees Are Coveted, Sometimes Dangerously So

Loggers in Romania wage bloody campaign to secure the last of Europe's old-growth forests

(Newser) - Alexander Sammon's gripping piece on threats to one of the biggest remaining old-growth forests in the world—it's in Romania—for the New Republic begins with a disturbing story about logging thugs who smash a documentary film crew’s equipment and nearly kill an activist. It's even...

On May 1, a Serious Hunt for Antlers Begins
On May 1,
a Serious Hunt
for Antlers Begins
longform
Mar 19, 2022 4:05 PM CDT

On May 1, a Serious Hunt for Antlers Begins

Inside the world of 'shed hunters' and the antlers they sell

(Newser) - "Shed influencers” are a thing on YouTube, and some of them pull in six figures from ads and sponsorship. They are an offshoot of a multimillion-dollar market for elk antlers—the ones that are shed by the animals each spring. Writing in the Atlantic, Abe Streep explains how the...

They Figured Out How to Destroy Assad's Chemical Arsenal

4 women were the core of an international effort that garnered a Nobel Prize, but not for them

(Newser) - In 2013, the Nobel Peace Prize went to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for its role in ultimately destroying 1,200 tons of Syrian chemical weapons. In a deep dive for Rolling Stone , Tessa Stuart gives much of the credit to four women: two civilians not long...

A Crypto Giant Worries About Its &#39;Dystopian Potential&#39;
He May Be a
Financial Titan
Like No Other
longform
Mar 19, 2022 10:00 AM CDT

He May Be a Financial Titan Like No Other

Cryptocurrency giant Vitalik Buterin, who eschews power and riches, is profiled in 'Time'

(Newser) - Bitcoin is the king of cryptocurrency, and its founder is thought to be a mysterious figure who goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto . Ether is the second-biggest cryptocurrency, but less mystery surrounds its founder: Meet 28-year-old Vitalik Buterin, subject of a lengthy, fascinating interview and profile at Time . He...

This Famous Stunt Dieter's Approach: Empathy, Shame

Like many diet and fitness programs, this may not align with the latest medical research

(Newser) - Trainer Drew Manning is "the world's most influential stunt dieter," proclaims the headline of Spenser Mestel's piece for Men’s Health. Manning, he explains, is known for his binge-based, emotionally charged Fit2Fat2Fit brand and went viral in 2011 when he spent six months getting fat on...

Russian Cybercriminals and Miami Gangs Find Synergy
Miami Street Gangs 
Feed Off Russian Hackers 
longform
Mar 13, 2022 2:15 PM CDT

Miami Street Gangs Feed Off Russian Hackers

For gangs, identity theft is an easy way to raise money, and Russian criminals are making it easy

(Newser) - "Fraud is the new dope." So says Armando Aguilar of the Miami Police, per a recent report by Thomas Brewster for Forbes about links between Miami street gangs and Russian cybercriminals. Gangs have always seen identity theft as a low-risk funding source. Crips from the East Coast to...

The Case of Hamid Hayat vs. America's Post-9/11 Fears

Hamid Hayat ended up serving 14 years

(Newser) - "I have no ill feelings, no grudges, no anger in me. I just don’t want this to happen to anybody ever again," Hamid Hayat tells Jason Fagone, who writes at length about what Hayat has been through for the San Francisco Chronicle. Born in Lodi, California, to...

Billionaire Builders Lose Grip on Family Empire
How 4 Brothers Destroyed
a Real Estate Empire
longform
Mar 12, 2022 9:30 AM CST

How 4 Brothers Destroyed a Real Estate Empire

Teddy Libfeld's sons took over his real estate business peacefully—at first

(Newser) - Maybe it is just another story about billionaire problems, but—as chronicled by Luc Rinaldi for Toronto Life —the saga of "Libfeld vs. Libfeld vs. Libfeld vs. Libfeld" offers valuable lessons for anyone operating a family business. Think succession planning! Teodor "Teddy" Libfeld, an Auschwitz survivor, arrived...

Race to Develop Insulin Brought Out Worst in Some Scientists

A century later, some researchers are best remembered for their belligerent quest for glory

(Newser) - Of the roughly 420 million humans who live with diabetes, some 150 million rely on insulin "to live a full and healthy life," per Diabetes Canada. Few if any know names like Frederick Banting or John Macleod, though they were the two men who received the Nobel prize...

She Was a Domestic Abuse Victim. Her Ex Got the Kids

ProPublica takes a look at Julie Valadez's custody battle

(Newser) - In her mind, Wisconsin mother and domestic abuse victim Julie Valadez was being persistent in standing up for her four children. To a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge, she was uncooperative and unreasonable. According to many advocates at the intersection of domestic abuse and child custody, this is not an...

They Suffer More Concussions Than Soldiers, Football Players
It's Not
Football Players
Most at Risk
for CTE
longform
Mar 5, 2022 8:45 AM CST

It's Not Football Players Most at Risk for CTE

'NYT Magazine' explores 'hidden epidemic' of brain injuries to women survivors of domestic abuse

(Newser) - By now, most people are aware of the dangers of brain injuries suffered by football players who receive regular blows to the head over years. The same holds true for soldiers of war in regard to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. But in a harrowing account in the New York ...

Saudi&#39;s MBS: Khashoggi Accusation Hurt My &#39;Feelings&#39;
Saudi's MBS:
'I Do Not Care'
if Biden
Dislikes Me
interview
Mar 3, 2022 11:08 AM CST

Saudi's MBS: 'I Do Not Care' if Biden Dislikes Me

Crown prince talks to 'Atlantic,' again denies role in Khashoggi murder

(Newser) - The Atlantic is out with an interview of Saudi Arabia's Mohammad bin Salman , his first with a non-Saudi outlet in about two years. The 36-year-old crown prince has been keeping a relatively low profile since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi , and that factored heavily in the talk. Some...

They Worked for a Slick Design Agency. Or So They Thought

The BBC looks at the 'elaborate con' that was Madbird

(Newser) - That their boss, Madbird founder Ali Ayad, sometimes signed his name Alex Ayd or Ali Ayyad could have been a red flag. That he required employees to work on commission-only for the London-based design agency for the first six months might have been another. But as the BBC reports in...

Widow of Cryptocurrency CEO Saw Her Own Riches Vanish

Jennifer Robertson details the aftermath of Quadriga CEO Gerald Cotten's death

(Newser) - Some of her late husband's friends messaged Jennifer Robertson on WhatsApp to ask why she hadn't told them he died, and to get details on where the funeral was. Except they weren't Gerald Cotten's friends. In a piece adapted for the Walrus from her book Bitcoin ...

Woman Uncovers Unbelievable Story About Her OB-GYN

Morgan Hellquist alleges Dr. Morris Wortman is her biological father

(Newser) - When a police officer pulled Morgan Hellquist over for erratic driving, he immediately recognized she was upset and asked what was the matter. "Even if I tell you what's wrong, you're never going to believe me," she recalls saying. In a piece for the Rochester Democrat ...

Ford Coppola Banking $120M of Own Money on His Opus

Director aims to make a classic called 'Megalopolis'

(Newser) - He's 82 now, and Francis Ford Coppola does the math in a lengthy profile at GQ . Based on family history, he might live another 20 years. So to be safe, cut that in half. Ten years. Plenty of time to make the movie he "has been trying to...

TED Talks Are 'Inspiresting.' This Is Not a Compliment

Oscar Schwartz writes a critique of the popular platform

(Newser) - Oscar Schwartz went back and watched the TED talks from the group's 2015 conference. Bill Gates warned about pandemics, Monica Lewinsky spoke about how to curb online bullying, and a Google engineer described driverless cars. Seven years later, did these "ideas worth spreading"—TED's famous tagline—...

She Tracked Down the Wikipedia High-Fivers
Meet the Not-So-Famous
Wikipedia High-Fivers
longform
Feb 20, 2022 10:45 AM CST

Meet the Not-So-Famous Wikipedia High-Fivers

13 years later, they're still together

(Newser) - Look up "high five" on Wikipedia , and you'll come across four photos of the same couple demonstrating the "too slow" variation. In a piece at Input magazine, Annie Rauwerda writes that she became a little obsessed with the pair because "the pictures are endearing and capture...

DNA Tests Often Give Up Family Secrets. Not Like This One

Jaclyn Peiser reveals what the children born to Anne Bryntwick discovered

(Newser) - Mike Mitchell, who died in 1991, raised eight children with his wife. One of them, David, was born in Montreal on March 15, 1954. More than 60 years later, David learned a girl born in the same city on the very same day was also Mike Mitchell's child. In...

A Teen TikTok Star, an Obsessed Fan. One Ended Up Dead

The 'New York Times' speaks with Ava Majury and her family

(Newser) - "We chose what’s best for our family. We know there are going to be two sides, and some people won’t understand." The New York Times lays out the sides in the story of Ava Majury, a then-13-year-old who downloaded TikTok during the pandemic and quickly established...

Stories 541 - 560 | << Prev   Next >>