The fruit trade is a dirty business. Take, for example, Sam Zemurray, known as the Banana Man, a Russian immigrant who became an influential figure in the American banana trade. This is the story of how he became one of the most powerful men in the world, overthrowing governments and contributing to the Guatemalan civil […]
What it’s like to be poor
Stephanie Land’s life changed forever when she wrote her first memoir, Maid, and the adaptation blew up on Netflix. But before any of that happened, she struggled horribly as a single mother with an abusive ex. Her second book, Class, tells that story — and it isn’t always pretty. Found Family Perhaps the biggest drain on Stephanie’s […]
Escaping a nightmare
Rudolf Vbra was just a teenager when he escaped Auschwitz. It was 1944, and the world did not yet know much about what was happening in Nazi concentration camps. His accounts of the camp’s operations helped save 200,000 Hungarian Jews. Here’s how he broke the silence. A Plan Was Born At Auschwitz, Vbra was part […]
The one with Chandler’s legacy
As we near the two-month mark of Matthew Perry’s untimely death, we’ve heard a lot about his troubles. Perry detoxed more than 65 times in his life, starting at the age of 26. He went public with all his struggles in an effort to show other addicts that they weren’t alone. Sharing His Story In 2019, […]
Jada Pinkett Smith tells all
Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in 2022 was very entertaining. But who could have predicted it would unlock a whole new level of Jada Pinkett Smith’s career? Want to learn more about her situationship with Will? Or her romance with Tupac? We’ve got you. The Slap Oh, the irony. It turns out […]
You can get even or find happiness
As a prisoner in the Death March from Auschwitz, Eddie Jaku escaped by hiding in a drainage pipe under a road. He survived on his own for several days, sleeping in caves and eating raw slugs and snails, until he got sick from drinking poisoned water. By the time he was found by American soldiers, […]
When millions of dollars aren’t enough
As a teenager, Steven Bartlett journaled about his aspiration to become a “happy sexy millionaire.” And really, who wouldn’t want that? As it turns out, the answer is Steven Bartlett. By the age of 25, he had nailed being a sexy millionaire. But he still wasn’t happy. What to make of this? Step One: Embrace […]
The writer who can raise the dead
Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer Prize is probably one of the least interesting things about her. The novelist, who won the 2023 award for fiction, is a trained biologist, an environmental activist, and a spokesperson of sorts for the region of Appalachia, which she sees as maligned by opportunistic authors like J. D. Vance. Oh, and she […]
The world through someone else’s eyes
As one of the hosts of NPR’s All Things Considered, Ari Shapiro has traveled the world to hear people’s stories. His first book, The Best Strangers in the World, shares his personal and professional journey as an intern at NPR, a full-time journalist, and his experiences as a gay man navigating the landscape of political divisions in the […]
The sensational murder that revealed cracks in the system
Michael Laudor was living in lockdown at a mental health facility when he received his acceptance letter to Yale Law School. Before his paranoid schizophrenia had flared out of control, he had been admitted to the top seven law schools in the country. Michael deferred his admission and enrolled the next year. He was about to […]
