In this excerpt from The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, host Brendan O’Meara talks to Seyward Darby about “Fault Lines,” her Atavist writing debut.
Crime
‘This Wasn’t His First Time’
A kidnapping deemed a hoax, the newbie detective who cracked the case, and the Harvard-trained lawyer whose mental unraveling set the whole story in motion.
How to Save True Crime: A Reading List of Wrongful Conviction Stories
Stories about wrongful convictions open our eyes to systemic injustices in the U.S. court system. Maurice Chammah, a staff writer at The Marshall Project, compiles his recommended longreads within the genre.
The Hare Krishnas of Coal Country
The world is full of make-believe. Some of it is sweet, some of it is sick. It persists because we have found no other antidote for pain.
A Sketch Artist, a Grieving Mother, and An Unsolved Mystery
They set out to solve a cold case. The more they dug, the more terrifying the truth became.
‘What’s the Worst Thing You’ve Ever Done?’
In Scott Kimball, the FBI thought it had found a high-value informant who could help solve big cases. What it got instead was lies, betrayal, and murder.
‘Can You Imagine How That Felt?’: Blake Bailey’s Predations, As Told By His Students
The inside story of author Blake Bailey’s grooming of middle-school girls.
The Silencing of #MeToo Reporting in Germany
How an HIV specialist in Germany is using media law to erase reporting of sexual abuse allegations against him.
Longreads Best of 2020: Crime Reporting
Our top picks in Crime Reporting for 2020.