The Hollywood HIV Doctor Who Was Secretly Peddling Eternal Youth

[] At 2:35 p.m. on the afternoon of June 8, 2019, agents from the Austrian Federal Police’s elite Zielfahnder (target investigators) unit arrived outside of a rental apartment in the city’s expensive First District. Normally tasked with tracking down and arresting hardened gangsters on the lam, the Zielfahnder were working in tandem with a representative...

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The Writer Sharing the Untold Stories of Female Climate Activists

[] Over the past decade and a half, Jill L. Ferguson has published 14 books. She works largely as a co-author, collaborating with authors and academics to write, edit, and publish books as a duo. Jill is the founder of Women’s Wellness Weekends, and also works as a writing coach, ghost writer and author. She frequently covers nature, women, and animals:...

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The Bank Robbers Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight (Or Do Anything Right, Really)

[] The American gangsters entered the British bank at three minutes to closing time on a Friday afternoon. Three men — two brothers and an accomplice — arrived outside, wearing black masks and gloves, horn-rimmed glasses, and narrow-brimmed trilby hats pulled low over their foreheads. They were armed with two revolvers and an automatic pistol. It was...

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The Writer Who Talks to Strangers

[] Most of us have had limited interactions with new people during the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes Narratively contributor Jason Schwartzman’s debut book, No One You Know: Strangers and the Stories We Tell, all the more timely. Through a compilation of short anecdotal stories, Schwartzman reminds readers how swiftly strangers can become familiar...

Jun 2021

Diary of a Bachelor Who Suddenly Became a Solo Dad to a Teenage Girl

[] Smile, Kern. Just fucking smile. Because guess what? Her mother isn’t coming. She’s not. I told that to myself over and over again all evening. No matter how many times I looked over at the entrance to the banquet hall, my daughter’s mother wasn’t going to show. Krystasia was on stage in a purple strapless dress I’d bought only a few days before...

Jun 2021

The Single Father Writing Candidly about Parenthood

[] From his work as a blogger, writer and editor, Kern Carter boasts several titles. None, however, may be so prevalent—in both his life and work—than his role as a single dad. His latest essay on the difficulties and delights of solo parenting was published on Narratively this week.  Kern sat down with Narratively to talk about his writing career,...

Jun 2021

These Forgotten Essays Reveal the Secrets and Dreams of Jewish Teens As Hitler Drew Near

[] I honestly couldn’t believe it. Are they all waiting to get in? You’d think it was one of Amsterdam’s most popular clubs, with some moody, hipper-than-thou DJ spinning from his throne. But nope, it was the Anne Frank House, and apparently, it’s like this every day the museum is open, the line of visitors stretching from the door, along the canal,...

Jun 2021

They Were Labeled Witches. They Just Had Dementia.

[] The Kahenge West courtroom in northeastern Namibia was full; people spilled out into the hallway to hear the ruling. “Villagers, neighbors, policemen — everyone wants to see what will happen, but no one was allowed to make a peep inside,” says Berrie Holtzhausen, whose body was taut with tension that day. When he heard the verdict, he clenched his...

May 2021

How This Stand-Up is Bringing Comedy and Self-Care Together

[] Comedy can make us laugh, and it can also help us better understand our world. And for those who are good at cracking jokes, comedy can be a coping skill. This is something that comedian Elsa Eli Waithe knows very well. For their Narratively essay, Waithe wrote about how stand-up comedy helped save their life when they were suicidal. To round out...

May 2021

The Shot-in-the-Eye Squad

[] My mind raced in the seconds after I was shot. I heard the gun go off and turned my head toward the sound, just in time to watch the spinning aluminum canister slam into my brow. Everything went black. I stumbled. When I regained my balance and opened my eyes, the sight in my right eye was gone. Something in my head told me the tear gas canister...

May 2021