Social Issues

The Bank Robber and the Football Star

The World’s Disappearing Sand 

The Deadly Global War for Sand
Battles sparked by sand mining have reportedly killed hundreds in recent years—including police officers, government officials, and ordinary people.

The Rescuers
America’s first responders, California Task Force Two follows disaster around the world. [PDF version]

Can a “Green Great Wall” Stave Off Environmental Disaster?         
China is planting billions of trees to hold back the desert.

The Deluge
A new era of fossil fuels is reshaping global economics and politics — and the planet.

Playboy logoOverdose County, USA
Why do prescription drugs kill so many people?

The For-Profit Refugee Camp 
The vast majority of Syrian refugees are still stranded in the Middle East. Why the world needs a whole new way to take care of them. [PDF version]

Wired magazine logoOrganizing Armageddon
What the Haiti earthquake teaches us about the science of coming to the rescue.

Harpers magazine logoPaper Trail of Tears
How casino-rich tribes are dealing members out.

The New Executive Class
Forget overpaid CEOs. Even third-tier execs in American companies are getting enormous salaries — as wages and benefits for many workers stagnate or fall.

First, Do No Harm 
Faced with a horrific drug problem, Vancouver is trying a radical experiment: Let junkies be junkies.

Magical Mystery Tour
American drug and alcohol addicts are going abroad in search of a psychedelic treatment that is banned in the US.

Harvest of Pain
The long, hard journey from Central Valley seed to caesar salad.

How the Rabbi Got AIDS
A secretly gay and HIV-positive Orthodox rabbi speaks.