The Sexual Assault Case That Shook Ancient Rome
It was more than 2,000 years before the #MeToo movement, but a scene similar to the ones we’ve witnessed so often lately was already playing out. A prominent politician was on trial for corruption and bribery, charges bolstered by dirt his enemies had dug up from his past: the violent sexual assault of a young girl.
Photographs Documenting A Different Side Of 1970s New York City
Bruce Gilden’s work promised a vision of New York street life on a par with Diane Arbus and Robert Frank, but for nearly 40 years this early body of work – comprising around 600 rolls of film – lay forgotten, only rediscovered last year when Gilden moved out of his Manhattan loft.
Investigating The Dangerous New Mafia Taking Control In Italy
The mafia is one of Italy’s most famous international business brands, with an estimated annual turnover of $250 billion a year. But its market share is being challenged by a group of ruthless new players. This documentary is about the growing power of Nigerian organized crime in the birthplace of the Italian mafia.
What Do We Do With Robert E. Lee?
The president of Washington and Lee University, Will Dudley, understood the depth of his problem the moment he turned on the television and saw hoards of white men in collared shirts and khakis carrying tiki torches as they marched through Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee.
Ed Smith And The Imagination Machine: The Untold Story Of A Black Video Game Pioneer
Thirty-seven years ago, New York-based APF Electronics, Inc. released The Imagination Machine. APF’s playful computer never rivaled the impact of products from Apple or Atari, but they remain historically important because of the man who co-created them: Ed Smith, one of the first African-American electronics engineers in the video game industry.
Thirty-seven years ago, New York-based APF Electronics, Inc. released The Imagination Machine. APF’s playful computer never rivaled the impact of products from Apple or Atari, but they remain historically important because of the man who co-created them: Ed Smith, one of the first African-American electronics engineers in the video game industry.
The Man At The Center Of Brussels Spy Probe
A flamboyant former EU ambassador with a fondness for plaid bow ties and a taste for the finer things in life, Gerhard Sabathil is the man German authorities suspect was at the center of a clandestine Chinese operation aimed at delivering European secrets to Beijing.
The ‘Lost Rambos’ Of Papua New Guinea: How Weapons And Hollywood Changed Tribal Disputes
Tribal fighting has long been present in the Papua New Guinea highlands, but the influx of modern automatic weaponry in the 1990s turned local disputes into lethal exchanges. Bootleg copies of the American film Rambo circulated in remote communities, becoming a crude tutorial on the use of such weaponry.
Flat 13: Facing Down Apartheid
This is the story of the apartment in downtown Johannesburg that, between the late 1940s and early 1960s, became a hub of resistance against apartheid.
World’s First City Discovered By U.S. Spy Satellite
Old U.S. spy satellite images of the Middle East have unearthed a stunning discovery: the world’s first city, Tell Brak – 4,000 years older than the Great Pyramids. Where Tell Brak lies is an area of the Middle East known as the Fertile Crescent.
The Malaysian Job: How Wall Street Enabled A Global Financial Scandal
The story of possibly the largest fraud in financial history—in which, billions of dollars were diverted from a Malaysian sovereign-wealth fund called 1Malaysia Development Berhad into covert campaign-finance accounts, U.S. political campaigns, Hollywood movies, and the pockets of innumerable other recipients.
The True Story Of Erroll Garner, The First Artist To Sue A Major Label And Win
You have to dial back to 1960 to find the major precedent: when star jazz pianist Erroll Garner sued Columbia Records for breaking his contract — and won after a nearly three-year battle in a New York Supreme Court decision. It was a landmark case that has been largely forgotten.
A Secret Cupid Is Emerging From A 17th-Century Vermeer
During a routine round of conservation on Johannes Vermeer’s 17th-century Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, art detectives realized that a section of the canvas had been painted over after the Dutch artist’s death in 1675, concealing a cupid figure.
‘Bizarre As Hell’: The Disappearance Of The Yuba County Five
How five men came to be on an inhospitable mountain road more than 50 miles from their homes in and around Marysville and Yuba City, California, was just one of the mysteries surrounding their disappearance. All five had intellectual disabilities or psychiatric issues to various degrees.
The Rise And Fall Of Delia’s, The Catalog That Ruled America
For a few years around the millennium, Delia’s and its direct-to-consumer catalogs were the hottest brand in the country. It was a glimpse of things to come. At its peak, 55 million copies were sent out to girls across the country every year.
William Eggleston’s Colorful Photographs Of The Everyday Shocked the Art World
The self-taught, Memphis-born photographer William Eggleston was making vivid images of mundane scenes at a time when the only photographs considered to be art were in black and white — color photography was typically reserved for punchy advertising campaigns, not fine art.
Art Detectives Go Deep Inside The Criminal Underworld On Hunt For Stolen Van Gogh
When a thief stole a multimillion-dollar painting by Vincent van Gogh from a small museum in the Netherlands, Octave Durham almost immediately found himself a person of interest. “It’s not a coincidence, because most of the time I did it. But now I’m retired.”
What Happened To Giant Flying Boats? The Saunders-Roe Princess Story
In 1943, Saunders-Roe, an iconic British aircraft builder, began planning for the future by drafting a design for a truly next-generation flying boat. But by the time the Princess took its first flight, the world had been completely transformed by the rapid development of runways and advances in land-based aircraft.
Ponzi Schemes, Private Yachts, And A Missing $250 Million In Crypto: The Strange Tale Of Quadriga
When Canadian blockchain whiz Gerald Cotten died unexpectedly last year, hundreds of millions of dollars in investor funds vanished into the crypto ether. But when the banks, the law, and the forces of Reddit tried to track down the cash, it turned out the young mogul may not have been who he purported to be.
‘The Big House And The Picket Fence’
Tonya Crowder still dreams that she and her fiance, Roosevelt Myles—who’s been in prison for decades fighting what he says is a wrongful conviction—will one day build a life together somewhere “nice, quiet, and simple.”
Bellagio Bandit: How One Man Robbed Vegas’ Biggest Casino And Almost Got Away
By robbing the Bellagio, Tony Carleo had achieved something he hadn’t been able to do in a decade of striving – he had made himself a millionaire. But, because he had stolen chips instead of cash, he was really only a millionaire inside the Bellagio casino.
The Growing Death And Injury Toll From Takata Airbags
Twenty-four people have died and hundreds have been seriously injured from exploding Takata airbags. In 2000, Takata knew about the problem with their ammonium nitrate inflators, they knew they were exploding in their own labs, and they covered up the problem.