Roc Morin
At War with Reality in Eastern Ukraine
For many citizens living in parts of Eastern Ukraine occupied by Pro-Russia rebels, reality has become a tenuous amalgamation of rumors, propaganda, and dreams.
Can Science Find a Safe Replacement for Alcohol?
When it comes to legal intoxicants, alcohol is still the only game in town. But with a massive pharmacopeia and scientific infrastructure at our disposal, that makes pretty much zero sense.
The Anarcho-Primitivist Who Wants Us All to Give Up Technology
Our dependence on technology has stunted our ability as a species to truly communicate, according to John Zerzan, perhaps the world's most prominent anti-technology philosopher. The solution? Give it all up and start hunting and gathering again. And...
This Warden Wants to Make His Job Obsolete
Rick Van Wickler runs New Hampshire’s 230-inmate Cheshire County Correctional Facility, a county-funded facility where his word is law. But his lockup differs from most because of Van Wickler's unorthodox view of crime and punishment.
Nazi-Era Snapshots and the Banality of Evil
Scouring flea markets, estate sales, and the internet, New Yorker and relative of Holocaust survivor Daniel Lenchner has collected over 500 snapshots of Nazis.
Death’s Messenger: One Soldier’s Job Delivering the Worst News Imaginable
“There’s still a war going on,” Captain Richard Siemion began. “There are still people dying—not as many as before—but it’s still happening. And when it does, the Army sends somebody like me to break the news.”
Tales from a Former Undercover Narc
Neill Franklin spent decades posing as an addict in Baltimore. He now leads Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an organization of cops who think the war on drugs is a massive, costly failure.
Cryonics: Immortality for $28,000
With dreams of immortality, Robert Ettinger started the Cryonics Institute in 1976. In an unassuming building in Clinton Township, Michigan, the dead are frozen in liquid nitrogen until future generations develop the technology to revive them.
Silicone Love: Davecat’s Life with a Synthetic Wife and Mistress
Davecat met me at his home in suburban Detroit where he lives with his silicone wife of 13 years. He shook my hand enthusiastically before introducing his bride. The love doll sat silently on the couch, gazing off into the distance.
Inside the Crumbling Walls of Kabul's Abandoned Palace
The Dural Aman Palace was built as an earthly attempt at heavenly perfection in the early 1920s. Its name means the “Abode of Peace,” but the palace has been shelled nearly out of existence during the last 30 years of war. Now, it is home to a small...
Under Fire with the Toughest Men in Afghanistan
I went to Sangin, Afghanistan, which overlooks the world’s most productive poppy fields, to see what life was like for the US Marines and Afghan forces fighting the Taliban for control of the region.