• New Nonfiction

    The "Kidnapping Club" That Terrorized African Americans in 19th Century New York

    A gang of unscrupulous racists, with the support of prominent city figures, attacked New York City's Black community in the 1830s, and inspired novel forms of resistance.

    October 20, 2020  By Jonathan Daniel Wells
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    Edgar Allan Poe and and the Rise of the Modern City

    "The Man of the Crowd" was arguably Edgar Allan Poe's first detective story. It's also one of his strangest.

    October 20, 2020  By Scott Peeples
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    The Infamous Deeds and Postmortem Travels of William Corder

    After his execution for murder, William Corder's body was given to the dissectors, and his skin used to bind a book about his trial: just the start of the corpse's long afterlife.

    October 20, 2020  By Megan Rosenbloom
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    On Rotwelsch, the Central European Language of Beggars, Travelers and Thieves

    From Lutherans to Nazis, linguistic authorities have long sought to understand and control Rotwelsch (and long cast aspersions at its many Yiddish loan words).

    October 13, 2020  By Martin Puchner
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    The Strange Poetry of a Notorious Gangster's Last Words

    In 1935, Dutch Schultz was shot in a Newark steakhouse. His deathbed monologue would inspire an unusual literary legacy.

    October 8, 2020  By Michael Cannell
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    The Civil War Hoax That Almost Took Down The Union

    In 1864, newspapers printed a message from the President threatening a new draft. Lincoln didn't write it. So who did?

    October 6, 2020  By Elizabeth Mitchell
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    Two Assassinations (and One Attempt) That Changed The Course of the Russian Revolution

    After the murder of a Chekist and an attempt on his own life, Lenin turned towards more draconian measures to consolidate power and contain international intrigue.

    October 2, 2020  By Jonathan Schneer
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    A Devastating Fire and Evidence of Arson

    As the embers cooled in Australia's Latrobe Valley, investigators searched for an arsonist amidst an uptick of fire-setting.

    September 30, 2020  By Chloe Hooper
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    The Modern Detective: Inside the Secret World of Private Investigators

    Corporate intelligence is reshaping the world. One private detective surveys the shifting terrain.

    September 30, 2020  By Tyler Maroney
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    Carlos Castaneda: The Mysterious Life of a Guru in 1970s California

    Castaneda wrote a series of wildly popular books extolling a shaman's teachings. Was any of it real?

    September 29, 2020  By Mike Sager
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