Letter from Cairo
The Refugee and the Thief
A gay Egyptian leaves his homeland.
by Peter Hessler

Letter from London
The Chaotic Triumph of Arron Banks, the “Bad Boy of Brexit”
The U.K. is in a panic over voters’ decision to withdraw from the E.U. But the pugnacious millionaire whose donations—and Trumpian scare tactics—helped sway Britons has no regrets.
by Ed Caesar

Letter from Oklahoma
The Oil-Pumping Adventures of Rachael Van Horn
After witnessing a bombing in Iraq, the Army Reserves veteran and newspaper columnist decided to work through her P.T.S.D. in the fields of the Panhandle.
by Ian Frazier

Letter from Beijing
China’s Bizarre Program to Keep Activists in Check
As part of “stability maintenance,” people the state considers troublemakers may be sent to jail—or sent on vacation.
by Jianying Zha

Letter from Cuba
The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome
Unexplained brain injuries afflicted dozens of American diplomats and spies. What happened?
by Adam Entous and Jon Lee Anderson

Letter from Oklahoma
America’s Other Family-‍Separation Crisis
Sending a mother to prison can have a devastating effect on her children. Why, then, do we lock so many women up?
by Sarah Stillman

Letter from Missouri
Claire McCaskill’s Toughest Fight
In one of the closest races of the midterms, the Missouri senator strategizes to save her seat from a Trump Republican.

by Nicholas Lemann

Letter from Utah
Why Two Chefs in Small-Town Utah Are Battling President Trump
The owners of an improbably successful restaurant at the gate of a vast wilderness are fighting to keep it unspoiled.
by Kathryn Schulz

Letter from Amsterdam
How a Notorious Gangster Was Exposed by His Own Sister
Astrid Holleeder secretly recorded her brother’s murderous confessions. Will he exact revenge?
by Patrick Radden Keefe

Letter from Warsaw
Is Poland Retreating from Democracy?
A debate about the country’s past has revealed sharply divergent views of its future.
by Elisabeth Zerofsky