Over the past 40-plus years, 国产吃瓜黑料 has published a lot of stories that resonated with readers. But we wanted to know which ones resonated most with the editors who worked on all those magazine issues? So we asked staffers to name their all-time favorite 国产吃瓜黑料 story and ended up with an emotional journey through some truly great, and often underappreciated, work across subjects and eras.
鈥淛ohn and Ann Bender鈥檚 Quest for Paradise鈥
The first time I read this, I had just started at 国产吃瓜黑料 and became so obsessed with what happened to Ann and John that I went home and Googled them for a night straight鈥攊f you go deep enough into the internet, you can even find a video tour of their home in the jungle. The story itself is tragic, weird, and compelling, but at its heart, it鈥檚 the vivid details that really stick with you. I鈥檒l never get the image of 500 Tiffany lamps out of my mind.
鈥擜bigail Wise, online managing editor
鈥淯苍辫谤辞迟别肠迟别诲鈥
Published in 2014, 鈥Unprotected鈥 was a groundbreaking look at the history of sexual abuse and cover-up in the world of American competitive swimming. To report this story, Rachel Sturtz spent months searching for victims of sexual abuse by coaches in the ranks of amateur swimming in the United States. She also spoke with lawyers, law enforcement officials, independent watchdogs, and others who helped her understand the complicated system of crime cover-up that has turned many of our amateur sports federations into breeding grounds for the exploitation of young women. The patterns Sturtz explored in this story have become familiar in recent months, thanks largely to the scandal that exploded in U.S. Gymnastics, involving serial abuser Larry Nassar.
鈥擜lex Heard, editorial director
鈥淒ead Weight鈥
国产吃瓜黑料 editors love Everest. Every spring, as the climbing season begins, our office buzzes with excitement and our homepage is plastered with dispatches about the teams heading up the mountain. 鈥Dead Weight,鈥 published more than a decade ago, is one of my favorites. In many ways, this story鈥攊n which Eric Hansen spends five days as a porter in Nepal鈥攆ollows the classic theme of the confident white westerner testing his physical limits by performing manual labor in another country, only to return home run-down and demoralized. But Hansen writes in a humorous, awe-inspired way that gives the reader a real insight into the lives of Sherpas and a true appreciation for the work they do. If you want a detailed account of the life of a Sherpa during Everest season, this is a good place to start.
鈥擝en Fox, associate reviews editor
鈥淎t Sea鈥
Long before I lived on an island and was surrounded by the Mediterranean, I fell in love with Jonathan Raban鈥檚 musings of solitary life on his boat in 鈥At Sea.鈥 His descriptions were romantic, and the scenes he set鈥攐f pulling out of unknown ports and leaving behind 鈥渁 small gap, like a missing tooth鈥ahead] the open sea and a day like a blank slate鈥濃攖ugged at my own travel strings at the time, a recent college graduate eager to explore and get lost to find myself.
鈥擳asha Zemke, copy editor
鈥淭he Day We Set the Colorado River Free鈥
Not only is this a classic 国产吃瓜黑料 adventure story鈥攚ith a bunch of river rats trying to make a historic descent of the Colorado River鈥攂ut it鈥檚 also a creative way to talk about one of the biggest environmental challenges facing the West right now: increasing drought and water scarcity. Rowan Jacobsen tackles that massive, scary topic in this fun-to-read, super-informative feature.
鈥擜xie Navas, executive editor
鈥淥pen Your Mouth and You鈥檙e Dead鈥
I think this is the article that first made me think I might want to work at 国产吃瓜黑料 someday, or at least be a magazine writer. The story is thrilling and a bit shocking鈥攂ut not so much that it doesn鈥檛 respect its subject matter: the world鈥檚 best freedivers. My first time reading it, I had never heard of freediving, but by the end of the narrative, I felt like an expert on the sport. Maybe that鈥檚 what I loved most about the piece: discovering something new, and discovering it so fully. But I鈥檓 always just as enthralled when I reread it.
鈥擲vati Kirsten Narula, assistant social media editor
鈥淎 Recklessly Picaresque, Highly Philosophical, Gloriously Unmapped Road Trip in Search of Secret Places You鈥檒l Have to Find Yourself鈥
While I have many, many favorite 国产吃瓜黑料 stories, one that deserves some extra love is a story by Bryan Di Salvatore聽about his quest to track down the mystery behind why people throw shoes into trees. He drove all over the West to find the trees and came back with one of the most unique romps I鈥檝e ever read. Bryan and I had a heated discussion about why he didn鈥檛 want to say where the trees actually are; he won that debate. Though the story ran in 2001, it still delights today.
鈥擬ary Turner, deputy editor
鈥淭he Tuber鈥
鈥淗e toodles off, leaving me to fend for myself in a craft that probably wouldn鈥檛 survive an attack by a determined koi.鈥 That鈥檚 how Wells Tower opens his odyssey to navigate the alligator-infested waters of Florida on an inner tube. It鈥檚 a hilarious story and so well-written.
鈥擩. Weston Phippen, senior editor
鈥57 Feet & Rising鈥
In 2011, when the Mississippi was swollen and angry with flood waters, 国产吃瓜黑料 sent W. Hodding Carter 300 miles down the river in a canoe, and I haven鈥檛 gotten the story out of my mind since. It鈥檚 the type of story I love best: a slightly daring writer goes on a slightly harebrained expedition to help readers better understand a broader issue that鈥檚 affecting the world we care about.
鈥擩onah Ogles, articles editor
鈥淎n Inside Look at the Surprisingly Violent Quidditch World Cup鈥
Did you know 国产吃瓜黑料 was one of the first national magazines (along with our nemesis, ESPN) to have a website? Despite this, I didn鈥檛 manage to read a story on 国产吃瓜黑料Online.com until 2012, when I somehow discovered Eric Hansen鈥檚 relentlessly hilarious story about competitive Quidditch. I haven鈥檛 forgotten it even now that I work for said website. Hansen describes the ass-kicking of him and his ragtag team of alternative-sports specialists with the rigor of any serious sports reporter. He catches every poignant detail, even while scrambling after a human snitch while straddling a broom: 鈥溾業celander! Get on your broom,鈥 the announcer barked. 鈥業t鈥檚 why we play. To fly.鈥欌
鈥擡rin Berger, senior editor
鈥淭he King of the Ferret Leggers鈥
国产吃瓜黑料 has published some pretty epic stories鈥擡verest summits, jungle expeditions, explorers stranded at sea鈥攂ut the one story that I just can鈥檛 shake is Donald Katz鈥檚 1983 feature on the English sport of ferret legging. What is ferret legging, you ask? It鈥檚 quite simple: Pants are tied at the ankles, a ferret dropped in, and the contestant endures for as long as they can. The record at the time was 5 hours and 26 minutes, held by the tattooed and lovable 72-year-old Reg Mellor. Katz dives deep into the bizarre world of this little-known pastime, and I can assure you, this is a read you do not want to miss.
鈥擬arie Sullivan, associate video producer
鈥淗umble Is the Prey鈥
David Quammen is a hero of mine from my early days in college. I had never read anyone who could so eloquently distill exoteric scientific theories and the nearly impenetrable technical jargon into such beautiful (and perhaps more important, easy to understand) prose. He was a prolific writer for 国产吃瓜黑料, but there鈥檚 a reason we鈥檝e included this piece about the Komodo dragon in our recent anthology : It鈥檚 one of his best. (Ed. note: It鈥檚 also not published online, so you鈥檒l have to find it in the book.)
鈥擭icholas Hunt, associate editor
鈥淩un for Your Life鈥
Running and obsessiveness often go hand in hand, and I鈥檝e read countless essays about the compulsion to run. But this one has always stuck with me. I first read it before I worked at 国产吃瓜黑料, and I鈥檝e come back to it more times than I care to admit. (When I searched for it in my inbox just now, I found several emails I鈥檝e sent to different people recommending they read it. To an ex-boyfriend: 鈥淢aybe this offers some insight into my psyche.鈥 I鈥檒l stop there.) Every time I revisit the story, different parts resonate, as my relationship with running has changed over time. The essay is dark in spots, and I don鈥檛 relate to all of it, but other parts are frustratingly familiar. Without fail, this bit always pops out at me: 鈥淩unning is hard, I think we can all agree. And there鈥檚 nothing quite so easy as not running. What it takes to run, on the other hand, is at the threshold of the obscene. But once you accumulate a good number of miles, running farther and faster becomes more urgent than running less, never mind stopping.鈥
鈥擬olly Mirhashem, associate editor
鈥淏lood in the Sand鈥
This classic by the late and legendary Matthew Power is true crime meets incredible environmental story, all set on a jungle beach in Costa Rica. In 2013, 26-year-old conservationist Jairo Mora Sandoval was murdered while trying to protect leatherback sea turtle nests on Costa Rica鈥檚 east coast from egg poachers. Power travels there to follow the homicide investigation and the efforts of Mora鈥檚 friends to honor his legacy by continuing to protect the endangered species鈥 eggs.
鈥擫uke Whelan, research editor
鈥淔rom Kidnapping to Kids, My Life On and Off the Rock鈥
This piece by Beth Rodden has to be my all-time favorite story. Nestled into the all-women 鈥XX Factor鈥 print issue, this hard-hitting story shows what it means to be a professional rock climber and to balance life and passion. Personally, this story cemented my burning desire to work for 国产吃瓜黑料 and publish incredible stories like Beth鈥檚.
鈥擡mily Reed, assistant reviews editor
鈥淭he Polar Expedition That Went Berserk鈥
In 2011, a crew of five embarked on an expedition from Norway to Antarctica. Only two made it back alive, and the whole story teeters on the verge of being so ridiculous that you almost don鈥檛 believe it really happened.
鈥擜riella Gintzler, assistant editor
鈥淭he Boy Who Lived on Edges鈥
This is a story about skiing, mental illness, and a gifted man who maybe died on purpose, or maybe not. It鈥檚 dark and visceral, and it might just be contributing editor Christopher Solomon鈥檚 magnum opus.
鈥擩enny Earnest, social media manager