This week, we take a look at “My Son’s Mystery Medical Condition and Our Family’s Brave New World“ written by Taylor Harris for Narratively.

Taylor Harris is a writer and stay-at-home mom living in Charlottesville, Virginia. Her work has been featured in The Washington Post, McSweeney’s, The Toast, Babble, and other publications.

Next week: We stay focused on family with a look at “My Autistic Brother’s Quest for Love” by Danielle Bacher for Esquire. A great read — check it out.

“Coyote Bros” by Flinder Boyd is about three hard-partying young men from Corpus Christi, Texas who made a small fortune smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States. Flinder and I talk about how he found this story and put it together for Rolling Stone.

Flinder Boyd is a former professional basketball player who played 10 years in Europe. His writing has appeared in The Classical, Sports on Earth, Fox Sports, Newsweek, and BBC online. His story "20 Minutes at Rucker Park" appeared in "The Best American Sports Writing 2014."

Up next week: "My Son’s Mystery Medical Condition and Our Family’s Brave New World" by Taylor Harris.  

This week we look at “The Revolutionary Routine of Life as a Female Trucker," written by Jessica Ogilvie for BuzzFeed in March 2016. She profiles Melissa Rojas, a third-generation trucker who drives thousands of miles every week. We talk about how it went and what she learned along the way.

Jessica Ogilvie is a regular contributor to LA Magazine, Playboy and LA Weekly. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, VICE, The Hairpin, Complex, Conde Nast Traveler and LAist.

This week, we're taking a look at “Crowd

Davy

Up next week: "Rambln'

This week, we look at “Fight," written by Dan Barry for The New York Times in March 2016. “Fight” tells the story of two fighters who faced off for their first professional boxing match, and the tragic result that followed. We talk about what it took to put together the story of what led both men into that ring, and what happened to the one who survived.

Dan Barry is a longtime columnist and an award-winning reporter for The New York Times and the author of four books.

For next week: Crowd Source by Davy Rothbart.

"The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous" looks at AA (and related treatment programs for alcohol and drug addiction) and asks tough questions about whether it works as well as many believe, and if there are better, more effective alternatives.  I talk with author Gabrielle Glaser about the challenges of reporting and writing about this controversial topic.

Gabrielle Glaser is an author and award-winning journalist who writes about issues of addiction and mental health. She specializes in long-form narrative and investigative writing, especially about social issues, health, and medicine. She has written for the New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, the Associated Press, The Economist, The Dallas Morning News, The Village Voice, and National Public Radio.   She is the author of three books, including her most recent work, "Her Best-Kept Secret."

"A Million Little Boxes" looks at the 39th Annual American Crossword Puzzle Tournament and the battle between two of the greatest puzzle solvers of all time. I talk about the story with writer Oliver Roeder from FiveThirtyEight.com

Oliver Roeder is a senior writer at FiveThirtyEight.  He's written about interesting corners of culture and competition, including The Westminster Dog Show, Rubik's Cube competitions, and the best Scrabble player on Earth.

This week’s episode looks at “The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck,” by Lane DeGregory for the Tampa Bay Times in January 2016.

The story looks at the life and tragic death of Phoebe Jonchuck, a five-year-old girl, murdered by her father, who dropped her from the side of a bridge. I talk with Lane about the challenges of exploring this difficult story.

Lane Degregory is a feature writer for the Tampa Bay Times. She has won dozens of national awards, including the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for her story "The Girl in the Window."  

Some other great examples of Lane's storytelling:

A Message from Roger

At 99, a St. Petersburg man finds meaning in the working life

Driving headlong into a sunny paradise

Couple falls for the biggest game at the fair

For next week: A Million Little Boxes by Oliver Roeder

This week’s episode looks at “The Wreck of Amtrak 188,” written by Matt Shaer for the New York Times Magazine in January 2016.

The story examines one of the worst rail disasters in American history, which occurred just north of Philadelphia in May of 2015. It looks at the accident, the victims, and Brandon Bostian, the man who was driving the train that night.

Matthew Shaer is an author and award-winning magazine journalist based in Atlanta. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, GQ, New York, Harper’s, Fast Company, Wired, Men’s Journal, Popular Science, and Smithsonian Magazine.

For next week, check out "The Long Fall of Phoebe Jonchuck" by Lane DeGregory.