Mugshot of a man staring blandly into the camera.

What I Inherited from My Criminal Great-Grandparents

In working through the Winter case files, I often felt pinpricks of déjà vu: an exact turn of phrase, an absurdly specific expenditure.
A collage of a gavel, a comb, and a gloved hand in front of a sexual assault examination form.

The Frustrated Promise of the Rape Kit

Standardized forensic exams are a useful tool for sexual-violence investigations—or they would be if police departments consistently tested their findings.
Girl holding a pile of Cabbage Patch Kids dolls

The Droll Capitalist Parable of Cabbage Patch Kids

A new documentary, “Billion Dollar Babies,” shows how a product of Appalachian folk art drew the blueprint for all holiday toy crazes to come.
Barbara Antmann, whose sister was a Sullivanian, outside one of their buildings.

The Upper West Side Cult That Hid in Plain Sight

In the sixties and seventies, the Sullivanian Institute had a winning sales pitch for young New Yorkers: parties, sex, low rent, and affordable therapy.
Pro choice protestor with "My Mind My Body My Choice" poster

The Supreme Court Decision That Defined Abortion Rights for Thirty Years

The centrist, compromising view of reproductive rights in Planned Parenthood v. Casey helped clear the path to overturn Roe v. Wade.