In September 1990, a brutal double murder on the Appalachian Trail shocked the nation and left haunting questions about violence and motive. Earl Swift was hiking the route and knew the victims. Twenty-five years later, he went back to the woods of Pennsylvania, searching for answers that may never be found.

In 1968, Boxcar Pinion fell under the spell of that crazy hillbilly jazz we call bluegrass. For the last 25 years, his daughters and thousands of bluegrass pickers and fans have gathered annually to remember the spirit of the old bass player. By Tony Rehagen.

Massive hurricanes striking Miami or Houston. Earthquakes leveling Los Angeles or Seattle. Deadly epidemics. Is the United States prepared? By David A. Graham.

A few years ago, the writer Joy Williams’s favorite church needed to dispose of a few extra pews after a renovation. Williams attends the church only in April and October, when her frequent cross-country drives take her to Laramie, Wyo., but she wanted a pew anyway. She borrowed a trailer, got a friend to help her load the pew and drove a thousand miles, pulling it behind her enormous Bronco, her two German shepherds...

What made a Puritan village turn against itself?

G.O.P. presidential candidates are struggling to craft a foreign policy that can please the gung-ho and win in 2016 — without overpromising military force.

Teenager Zachary Hammond was killed by South Carolina police this summer under questionable circumstances. His family says they're struggling to get attention from the media because they're white.

For four years, a Dartmouth student had been relentlessly stalked by an older man. The legal system couldn’t protect her, so she wanted permission to carry a gun on campus. One year after becoming a gun-rights poster girl, Taylor Woolrich tells her story. By Madison Pauly.

Germany is experiencing an unprecedented influx of immigrants who will fundamentally change the country. They represent a burden, but also a chance to create a New Germany, one that is more cosmopolitan and generous.

A small band of determined academics have set out to persuade the Supreme Court to undo the New Deal—and have almost won. By Brian Beutler.

Life along the longest yard sale in the world. By Helen Rosner.

With the tech industry awash in cash and 100 “unicorn” start-ups now valued at $1 billion or more, Silicon Valley can’t escape the question. Nick Bilton reports.

The long read: For centuries mystics have channelled the hopes and fears of Afghans. With the nation in turmoil, their services are as popular as ever. But can they survive the latest crackdown by religious hardliners? By May Jeong.

For decades, the freewheeling hippies of Jesus People USA —“God’s forever family” — forged one of the most influential movements in Christianity. They were also Jaime Prater’s family, until he made a documentary exposing the commune’s darkest secrets. By Jesse Hyde.

Keith Gessen travels on the Nordic Odyssey, a cargo ship that, thanks to rising temperatures, can sail the Northeast Passage, from Russia to China.

Maine treasure hunter Greg Brooks found the world’s richest shipwreck off the coast of Cape Cod. Or at least that’s what he told investors. By Erick Trickey.

A three-way, mostly civilized family contest to become the next publisher of the Times. By Gabriel Sherman.

I am named after the daughter my father lost... By Jeannie Vanasco.

Inside the multibillion-dollar casino that was supposed to turn things around. By Nick Paumgarten.

I didn’t go to high school. This I think of as one of my proudest accomplishments and one of my greatest escapes, because everyone who grows up in the United States goes to high school. It’s such an inevitable experience that people often mishear me and think I dropped out... By Rebecca Solnit.