Filmmaker David Fincher takes angst and gloom and makes it beautiful. Who better to direct The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo? Issue 19.12, December 2011

Dave Sanders, (Not So) Special Agent by Joshua Davis

Dec 13th, 2011 53m 37s

Fiber-optics exec by day, gun-toting defender of justice by night. Issue 19.12, December 2011

CEO of the Internet by Steven Levy

Dec 6th, 2011 27m 34s

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos talks about the new Kindle Fire, cloud computing, social media, and sending people into space. Issue 19.12, December 2011

Bitcoin's Rise and Fall by Benjamin Wallace

Dec 2nd, 2011 30m 30s

The story of the virtual currency you can actually spend—if it doesn't get stolen first. Issue 19.12, December 2011

Are We There Yet? by Bill Donahue

Nov 22nd, 2011 26m 39s

Six men, locked in a capsule on a 520-day simulated mission to Mars. You should see what that does to a person. Issue 19.11, November 2011

Mystery Box by Andrew Curry

Nov 16th, 2011 32m 11s

Last year a cargo container arrived at an Italian port. It was emitting torrents of radiation. And no one knew what to do next. Issue 19.11, November 2011

The Second Coming by Steven Levy

Nov 7th, 2011 25m 55s

A decade ago, Napster's attempt to set music free was crushed by the record labels. Now, Facebook and Spotify (and a host of others) have resurrected the dream. Hallelujah. 19.11, November 2011

The Olfactory by Courtney Humphries

Nov 3rd, 2011 27m 10s

Many of the ingredients prized by perfume companies—like oakmoss—are being regulated out of existence. So the industry is racing to produce replacements. Will they pass the smell test?

Enigma by Peter Savodnik

Oct 19th, 2011 27m 58s

A Russian shortwave radio station has been broadcasting mysterious patterns of beeps for decades. Why?

Scare Tactics by Benjamin Wallace

Oct 11th, 2011 25m 7s

How two scammers built an empire by selling malevolent cures for fake computer viruses. Issue 19.10, October 2011

How to Hatch a Dinosaur by Thomas Hayden

Oct 4th, 2011 24m 31s

How scientists are trying to reverse-evolve a chicken into a dinosaur. Issue 19.10, October 2011

The Cult of Bang & Olufsen by Rob Walker

Sep 27th, 2011 20m 53s

Can the Danish electronics company's far-out vision of the future survive in Apple's world? Issue 19.10, October 2011

Winging It by Adam Fisher

Sep 20th, 2011 35m 17s

Ridiculously fast, hugely expensive, more than a little dangerous. The new America's Cup racers push the limits of what a sailboat can do. Issue 19.09, September 2011

Hey Pencil Neck! by Ben Austen

Sep 12th, 2011 25m 47s

What caricatures can teach us about facial recognition. Issue 19.08, August 2011

Let There Be LED by Dan Koeppel

Sep 6th, 2011 32m 38s

The heir to the inefficient incandescent bulb isn't the mercury-laden CFL. Instead, it's a liquid-cooled creation that's radically different from anything ever screwed into a socket. Issue 19.09, September 2011

Going, Going, Gone by James Surowiecki

Aug 30th, 2011 21m 55s

Auctions were supposed to be the new way to buy and sell everything. It didn't turn out that way. Issue 19.06, June 2011

The One-Armed-Bandit Bandit by Brendan I. Koerner

Aug 22nd, 2011 27m 35s

How one man hacked his way into the super-secretive slot-machine industry. Issue 19.08, August 2011

Liquid Gold by Judy Dutton

Aug 15th, 2011 22m 36s

Inside the booming market for nature's miracle: breast milk. Issue 19.06, June 2011

End of the Black Box by Jerry Adler

Aug 8th, 2011 25m 19s

When a plane goes down in the ocean, crucial info goes down with it. There's a better way to fly. Issue 19.07, July 2011

Bad Reputation by Jennifer Couzin-Frankel

Aug 3rd, 2011 25m 12s

The IUD is an ideal form of birth control, but in the 1970s one version made thousands of women sick and infertile. It's time to give the technology a second chance. Issue 19.08, August 2011

Half Life by Adam Higginbotham

Jul 26th, 2011 34m 36s

Twenty-five years after the Chernobyl meltdown, a scientific debate rages. Is the area around the reactor a death trap full of mutants or a new Eden for threatened species? Issue 19.05, May 2011