HEAR THAT WHISTLE BLOWING
The $9 Billion Witness
Meet the woman JPMorgan Chase paid one of the largest fines in American history to keep from talking.
FUTURE HED: FBI SHUTS DOWN SILK ROAD 3
FBI Shuts Down Silk Road 2
The Silk Road 2, the site that sprang up after the original was shut down by the FBI in October 2013, is down, after being seized by law enforcement.
'THE FORCE AWAKENS'
'Star Wars: Episode VII' Gets A Title
If you feel a disturbance in the Force, it’s millions of voices suddenly crying out the new title of "Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens."
VINING FOR HUMANITY
Vine's Transgender Superheroine
The definition of a superhero(ine) is someone who dresses up in fabulous costumes and saves lives. And that's exactly what Jeffrey Marsh does.
DON'T BRING DATES TO THIS JERK'S BAR
What It’s Like As A Bartender To Watch Your Awkward Tinder Date
"I’ll get people who repeatedly bring new dates in. They have this weird unspoken thing with me, this eye contact thing, where obviously I see what they’re doing and they know I was working the night before, but they’ll never verbally admit it to me, which is fine. You’ll see a guy bringing in four different women a week, or a girl bringing in four different guys. I’ll chuckle, I don’t give a shit, but I won’t blow their cover. There’s client confidentiality, for sure, even though I could write a "War and Peace"-sized novel about the shit I’ve heard."
SPIN CLASS
Five Ways To Lie With Charts
In the right (or wrong) hands, bar graphs and pie charts can become powerful agents of deception, tricking you into inferring trends that don’t exist, mistaking less for more, and missing alarming facts.
IT'S DEFINITELY NOT IN BOOKS
The Future Of Books Is On Your Phone, Not Your Tablet
An interview with Oyster co-founder Willem Van Lancker.
DIGG VIDEOS
All The Best Videos That We Couldn't Fit On This Page
If you're looking for something great to watch but don't want to sift through a bunch of garbage, may we humbly suggest Digg Video? We think you'll like what you see.
DRIVEN BY COMPETITION
Microsoft Announces Free Office For iOS And Android
Microsoft's Office suite for iPad, iPhone, and Android is now free.
IT'S NOT
The U.S. Army Thought It Was OK To Use The Word 'Negro' Until Today
Until it was updated today, A U.S. Army regulation said a service member can be referred to as a "Negro."
COMING UNDONE
What It's Like To Burn Out
I was badly burned out. Which, as it turns out, is not the same as being tired out, stressed out, bored or in need of a vacation. It’s more like all those things wrapped together, times ten, plus a lobotomy.
WE'RE GONNA CIRCLE BACK ON THIS ONE
Where Did Soul-Sucking Office-Speak Come From?
How did we get to the point where people are constantly spouting nonsense about "deliverables," "drill-down," "catch-up," "moving forward," and "quick wins?"
NO MARGARINE FOR ERROR
Why Are Sticks Of Butter Long And Skinny In The East, But Short And Fat In The West?
Until we got this question I had no idea this was a thing. But then I moved to Los Angeles, and it's true: I grew up with long, skinny sticks of butter in the east and out here they are short and fat.
BEWARE OF WIRELURKER
Malware Targeting iOS Discovered
Coming less than one week following the discovery of an OS X vulnerability called "Rootpipe," computer security researchers have found a new form of malware dubbed "WireLurker," which infects well-protected iOS devices through OS X.
POLITICAL CORD-CUTTING
Can Brazil Break Away From The American Web?
It may take more than an undersea cable to escape U.S. surveillance.
THE '60s UNDERBELLY OF NYC BOWLING
Gutters, Lanes And Loan Sharks
Gianmarc Manzione transports us back to 1960s Brooklyn, where con men, crooks, and defiant kids overran the local bowling alley, earning a quick dime or, if the occasion called for it, faking a heart attack to escape a dicey situation.
DC NOW STANDS FOR DANK CHRONIC
Colbert Is Happy For Barack Obama Now That Weed Is Legal In Washington DC
Mostly because Obama is the one who's going to need it most with this all-Republican Senate and House. And of course, Stephen couldn't resist a few jabs at Dems over his roasted leg of donkey.
AN ENCOUNTER WITH EVIL
What It Was Like Covering The Jerry Sandusky Case
On the three-year anniversary of the notorious pedophile’s arrest, a reflection upon the events which forever altered the lives of so many.
1 BEDROOM, 7 BATHROOMS
Finding Home At Taco Bell
On the unexpected, self-affirming solace to be found at a Taco Bell.
WRINKLES IN SPACETIME
How Building A Black Hole For 'Interstellar' Led To An Amazing Scientific Discovery
Kip Thorne looks into the black hole he helped create and thinks, “Why, of course. That's what it would do.”
ON EARTH, YMMV
Astronauts Encase A GoPro In A Water Sphere
Most things are cooler in space, like how water starts to act like a big blob of snot.
'WHEN YOU GET OLD, NOTHING MATTERS'
Jon Stewart's Charming Interview With John Cleese
John Cleese talks about his new book, getting old and not giving a damn.
WHAT'S IN A NAME? $129.61
The Cost Of Legally Changing Your Name
"Apparently this is the most complicated thing in the world, or at least in the state of New York. All I wanted to do was go from Catharine Leggat McKean to Catharine McKean Landon. Simple, right? No."
ROCK BOTTOM
AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd Arrested For Attempting To Procure Murder
AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd allegedly tried to have two men killed.
CHOSEN PEOPLE CHOSE OTHER PEOPLE
How The Faithful Voted
In the 2014 midterm elections, the Republican Party enlarged its majority in the U.S. House of Representatives with continued strong support from white evangelicals and people who attend religious services regularly. In addition, the GOP appears to have made inroads among some religious constituencies that traditionally have not been as supportive of Republican candidates.
HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE
Fox Executive's Body Found More Than Two Years After He Vanished
More than two years after Fox entertainment executive Gavin Smith vanished in Southern California, his body has been found, authorities said.
FACING THEM HEAD ON
Why Can't The Pentagon Kill The Islamic State's Top Commanders?
The U.S. military takes out terrorist leaders around the world, but it's been unable to cut the head off of the Islamic State.
SURGERY ISN'T A SOLUTION
The Gay People Pushed To Change Their Gender
Iran is one of a handful of countries where homosexual acts are punishable by death. Clerics do, however accept the idea that a person may be trapped in a body of the wrong sex. So homosexuals can be pushed into having gender reassignment surgery — and to avoid it many flee the country.
CAMPUS CASH DOUBLES AS FSA
The NCAA's Shameful Failure To Insure Its Athletes
The health insurance system is one of the most appalling and cringeworthy of the many problems with college athletics. Currently, the NCAA requires that every student-athlete who sets foot on campus has insurance for sports-related injuries. But it doesn't require the schools to pay for that insurance.
SHOT FOR SLEEPING ON A BENCH
Fourteen Shots In April
A new Wisconsin law was supposed to get justice for slain victims of police shootings, like Dontre Hamilton. Here’s what happened.
SLICK CONDITIONS
Oil Prices Are Dropping. So What?
As the global oil supply has increased and demand has weakened, prices are down to about $80 a barrel, a more than 25 percent drop since June, and recently fell to a three-year low. What should we make of this shakeup?
LAST PLANT STANDING
The Secrets Botanists Keep
Want to visit the “rarest plant in California”? Good luck. And, er, please don’t.
INSIDE THE LINES
Probing The Gray Areas Of ESPN's Journalism
After 18 months, ESPN's ombudsman sums up his findings as his tenure expires.
OPERATION DEVIL EYES
You Can Now Bid On One Of The CIA's Bin Laden Action Figures
In the years after the 9/11 attacks the Central Intelligence Agency searched for novel ways to combat the threat of international terrorism. Some were more novel than others, and none more so than the agency’s partnership with Don Levine, the retired head of research and development at the toy company Hasbro and the creator of G.I. Joe.
SING US AN OLD FASHIONED COUNTRY LULLABY
Jimmy Kimmel Has A Sleepover With Faith Hill And Tim McGraw
He finally puts that legendary Southern hospitality to the test. And when he gets there all he can say is, "I like it, I love it, I want some more of it!"
SWAPPIN' SPIT
Bette Midler 'Flips Lips' With Jimmy Fallon
Bette really wanted to interview herself, so logically she flipped lips with Jimmy and now they're trapped inside each others bodies for the next year.
WE GUESS HE HAD BUNS, HUN
New Show Will Document A Man Being 'Eaten Alive' By An Anaconda
Discovery Channel is putting a wildlife expert into a snake-proof suit and filming him being eaten by a giant snake. Sounds safe.
A SMALL STEP BACKWARDS FOR MAN
It's Time To Risk It All Again In Space
Why America needs to embrace a culture of risk in order to build the next-generation space program.
A VERY FORTUNATE EVENT
Netflix Is Adapting Lemony Snicket's 'A Series Of Unfortunate Events' As A Series
After bursting onto the original series scene with premium cable-caliber adult fare such as "House of Cards" and "Orange Is The New Black," Neflix is entering a new area: live-action family entertainment.
HE NEEDS A DOLLAR
Aloe Blacc: Streaming Services Need To Pay Songwriters Fairly
The singer-songwriter explains the flaws in our antiquated music licensing system.
DOING AWAY WITH THE OLD SCHOOL
Inside The Green School Revolution
How can we design better, "living" classrooms, places that will not only improve the lives of teachers and students, but also have less of an impact on the environment?
KISS THREE TIMES, THEN THROW THE SPOON
The French Custom Of Throwing Wooden Spoons At People
Like many other customs of northern France, the Historic Ladle Feast is basically about people throwing stuff at other people — just like the Festival de l'Andouille (where people throw sausages at each other) or the Fête de Jehan van d'Helle, also known as the Tobacco Party (where people throw wooden pipes at each other).
OUR WORKPLACE NEEDS MORE PUPPIES
This Startup Thinks Your Workplace Needs Wearable Walkie-Talkies
It’s a $99, hand-free contraption that clips onto your shirt and wirelessly connects with your cellphone, so that you can instantly communicate with colleagues. It's called Onyx, and you can think of it as a high-tech walkie-talkie.
CITIZEN SOLDIERS
Inside The Vigilante Fight Against Boko Haram
Long before the Islamist militant group Boko Haram kidnapped nearly 300 schoolgirls from Chibok in April, Abba Aji Kalli watched his country descend into madness.
WHEN FEAR OVERWHELMS EVIDENCE
Life In A Leper Home
He is nearing his 90th birthday now, his movement and speech a little more labored than they used to be, but Mr. Pete still remembers the very first day. May 17, 1951: the day he arrived, still in his 20s, to the hospital that would become his home for the next six decades.
IN NEED OF PEER REVIEW
Is The Sexist Scientific Workplace Really Dead?
A recent study claims that low numbers of women in senior academic science are due to choices made in childhood by girls, not anything to do with the environment at work. Can this be true?
ASSEMBLING THE SACRED TEXTS
Dust-To-Digital
In the digital age, nothing is lost. This, anyway, is what we tell ourselves.
BLAST ONE'S VOTE
How Much Of A Difference Did New Voting Restrictions Make? Enough
While we can breathe a sigh of relief that the electoral outcomes won’t be mired in litigation, a quick look at the numbers shows that in several key races, the margin of victory came very close to the likely margin of disenfranchisement.
ALL CAN EDIT THE OFFICE THERMOSTAT
The 36 People Who Run Wikipedia
What the weirdest, wildest, most successful participatory project in history tells us about working together.
GO VIRAL, NOT VERSACE
With Migos, The Atlanta Mixtape Meets Big Data
How to make Migos as big as they can be is also something 300 Entertainment's Lyor Cohen thinks a lot about. Indeed, this might be the real value that 300 brings to the table in their dealings with Quality Control: not their data but the sheer scale of their ambition for what Migos could become.
WAITER, I'D LIKE A FLY IN MY SOUP
Can Better Packaging Convince You To Eat Bugs?
It's true that two billion people worldwide already eat insects. But it's a challenge to convert Americans, who tend to think eating an ant or a grasshopper is gross. One of the latest attempts to rebrand insect cuisine is a Belgian startup called SexyFood, which is trying to sell worms and bugs as high-end snacks.
MOVE TO THE OVERLAP
This Venn Diagram Shows Where You Can Both Smoke Weed And Get A Same-Sex Marriage
American culture, in one chart.
'HUG LIFE'
Four Days In A Hello Kitty Convention Tattoo Parlor
For Hello Kitty fanatics, free tattoos at the icon’s 40th-anniversary celebration are just another benchmark in a lifetime of nostalgia, identity and devotion.
'COME AND GET US'
Navy SEAL Who Allegedly Killed Bin Laden Steps Forward
Rob O'Neill says he's the SEAL who shot Bin Laden and he's not afraid of any sort of retaliation.
NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE
Taylor Swift's '1989' As A Four-Minute Medley
Superfruit (two-fifths of Pentatonix) gave T. Swift the same treatment they gave Beyonce's last record.
VAPING IS GOING TO CHANGE EVERYTHING
We Vaped Alcohol And It Was Surprisingly Great
"We had our doubts with the Vaportini, a gadget that allows you to inhale, rather than drink, alcohol. But after putting it through comprehensive tests, we are surprised to conclude that vaping alcohol is awesome."
CATCHING BIGFOOT
'Pokémon's' Famous Missingno Glitch, Explained
Over the years, people have battled and captured hundreds of Pokémon. And while everyone has their favorite, no pocket monster is as infamous as "Missingno." Let's take this opportunity to break down the many reasons why "Missingno" stands as one one of the coolest, most notorious glitches in gaming.
THAT COULD HAVE GONE WORSE
'Road Rage' Doesn't Do Justice To This Insane Parking Space Feud
For starters, they're not on a road, they're in a mall parking lot. But fighting with someone over where to put your car should never end like this.
THE CAR IS BEARLY KEEPING UP
This Is Why You Shouldn't Try To Outrun A Bear
Seems like Pooh should have been able to get his paws on a lot more honey if he could move like this.
THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE, DUDE
The New Pornographers: GoPro Gets Sexy
Both professionals and amateurs are exploring the outer edges of GoPro's filmmaking possibilities. Call it GoPorn.
AND PAINFUL WHEN THEY HIT YOU IN THE EYE
Metal Shavings Are Beautiful In Slow Motion
Add this to the ever-growing list of Totally Pedestrian Things That Are Way Cooler When Slowed Down.