Ben McGrath
Ben McGrath has contributed more than two hundred stories to Talk of the Town, and his feature subjects have included a Native American community living in the mountains of northern New Jersey, a Mafia trial, and various dispatches from the world of sports: Formula 1 and Iditarod racing, the N.F.L.’s concussion crisis, and Kobe Bryant’s contemplation of retirement. His first book, “Riverman: An American Odyssey,” was published in 2022.
Mike Tyson Enters His Renaissance-Man Period
The fifty-seven-year-old boxer, weed mogul, and actor—he stars in “Asphalt City” opposite Sean Penn—perspires, philosophizes, prepares for his fight with Jake Paul.
Thirty-Thousandths of a League Under the Hudson
Daniel Goswick, Sr., is the diver you call when you lose something in the river: a contact lens, a wedding ring, or a car that mysteriously drove off a pier recently.
The Meathead Getting Other Meatheads to Read
Jon Finkel, who runs “Books & Biceps,” a book club for swole bros, and can bench ninety copies of “The Power Broker,” explains why reading only biographies is like skipping leg day.
Flotsam, Jetsam, and a Soprano Amid the Black Mayonnaise
Newtown Creek is not just a Superfund site but the site of a floating opera, with a libretto by Dana Spiotta.
The Virtues and the Sins of Big-Time High-School Football
Bishop Sycamore, the subject of a new documentary, became a national scandal. But it was part of a larger, and largely unchanged, system.
A Big-Ass Canoe Goes the Distance
A group of paddlers braved four-foot swells, the Russian mob, and yahoos in powerboats on a watery fifteen-hundred-mile journey from Maine and back.
On the Docket with Donald Trump
One was charged with criminal obstruction of breathing. One allegedly kicked someone in the back. And one, uncuffed, was charged with falsifying business records.
Predicting the Earthquake That Could Wreck New York
A geologist heads to the hills to study precariously perched boulders, which could provide clues to the frequency of the rare major quakes that shake the region.
Invasion of the Sports Cheaters!
As Aaron Judge broke Roger Maris’s home-run record, weird vibes sullied professional chess and poker, and an angling tournament looked to be the target of a low-tech con: lead weights in the fish.
Around the World in Seven Years (and One Rowboat)
Ellen (Magellan) Falterman enjoys a farewell pig roast and sets off from the Trinity River, in East Texas, in a bid to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a rowboat.
All Aboard the Berkshire Flyer!
After train geek Eddie Sporn helped realize his dream of getting Amtrak to run a line from Manhattan to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he became an “ambassador” for the route, a.k.a. schmooze master.
JAWS! Suburban Back-Yard Edition
Shark season is here. They’re chomping on swimmers at Jones Beach, and one—a critter the size of a baguette—made its way to the deep end of a New Jersey swimming pool.
Splash Down in the Hamptons
Tailwind Air, a competitor to Blade, wants its seaplane passengers to feel an Andy-Warhol-with-his pants-rolled-up vibe.
A Secret Voyage Across the Seven Seas of Central Park
Two urban Shackletons braved the elements for a clandestine, moonlit canoe excursion down each of the Park’s waterways, from the Harlem Meer in the north to the Pond in the south, dodging the police and “Star Wars” reënactors along the way.
After Seventy-five Hundred Miles, a Long-Haul Paddler Floats Into Town
Neal Moore, a canoeist who set off from Oregon, closes in on the Statue of Liberty after twenty-two months, twenty-two rivers, and one capsizing incident—a journey inspired by the disappearance of his fellow-canoeist, Dick Conant.
Thanks for the Bitcoin! How Does It Work?
A quirky Toronto broadsheet, beloved by Justin Trudeau and Margaret Atwood, gets tech support from an Ethereum founder.
Did Spacemen, or People with Ramps, Build the Pyramids?
Elon Musk said aliens did it (“obv.”), but an amateur Egyptologist in Mississippi tested out a homemade lever gizmo to lift a two-ton block.
The Firing of Don Cherry, Hockey’s Self-Appointed Gatekeeper
Cherry was a pioneer in the identity politics of sports. The game was the game, and he expected you to conform to it.
Night of the Walking Redheads
Gingers gather upstate to celebrate the mysterious genetics behind their Day-Glo follicles, curse childhood bullies, and debunk the rumor that they’re going extinct.
The Brooklyn Startup Helping High-School Athletes Go Viral
Overtime wants to be the dominant sports network for kids who grew up with iPhones in their pockets.
Mike Tyson Enters His Renaissance-Man Period
The fifty-seven-year-old boxer, weed mogul, and actor—he stars in “Asphalt City” opposite Sean Penn—perspires, philosophizes, prepares for his fight with Jake Paul.
Thirty-Thousandths of a League Under the Hudson
Daniel Goswick, Sr., is the diver you call when you lose something in the river: a contact lens, a wedding ring, or a car that mysteriously drove off a pier recently.
The Meathead Getting Other Meatheads to Read
Jon Finkel, who runs “Books & Biceps,” a book club for swole bros, and can bench ninety copies of “The Power Broker,” explains why reading only biographies is like skipping leg day.
Flotsam, Jetsam, and a Soprano Amid the Black Mayonnaise
Newtown Creek is not just a Superfund site but the site of a floating opera, with a libretto by Dana Spiotta.
The Virtues and the Sins of Big-Time High-School Football
Bishop Sycamore, the subject of a new documentary, became a national scandal. But it was part of a larger, and largely unchanged, system.
A Big-Ass Canoe Goes the Distance
A group of paddlers braved four-foot swells, the Russian mob, and yahoos in powerboats on a watery fifteen-hundred-mile journey from Maine and back.
On the Docket with Donald Trump
One was charged with criminal obstruction of breathing. One allegedly kicked someone in the back. And one, uncuffed, was charged with falsifying business records.
Predicting the Earthquake That Could Wreck New York
A geologist heads to the hills to study precariously perched boulders, which could provide clues to the frequency of the rare major quakes that shake the region.
Invasion of the Sports Cheaters!
As Aaron Judge broke Roger Maris’s home-run record, weird vibes sullied professional chess and poker, and an angling tournament looked to be the target of a low-tech con: lead weights in the fish.
Around the World in Seven Years (and One Rowboat)
Ellen (Magellan) Falterman enjoys a farewell pig roast and sets off from the Trinity River, in East Texas, in a bid to become the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a rowboat.
All Aboard the Berkshire Flyer!
After train geek Eddie Sporn helped realize his dream of getting Amtrak to run a line from Manhattan to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he became an “ambassador” for the route, a.k.a. schmooze master.
JAWS! Suburban Back-Yard Edition
Shark season is here. They’re chomping on swimmers at Jones Beach, and one—a critter the size of a baguette—made its way to the deep end of a New Jersey swimming pool.
Splash Down in the Hamptons
Tailwind Air, a competitor to Blade, wants its seaplane passengers to feel an Andy-Warhol-with-his pants-rolled-up vibe.
A Secret Voyage Across the Seven Seas of Central Park
Two urban Shackletons braved the elements for a clandestine, moonlit canoe excursion down each of the Park’s waterways, from the Harlem Meer in the north to the Pond in the south, dodging the police and “Star Wars” reënactors along the way.
After Seventy-five Hundred Miles, a Long-Haul Paddler Floats Into Town
Neal Moore, a canoeist who set off from Oregon, closes in on the Statue of Liberty after twenty-two months, twenty-two rivers, and one capsizing incident—a journey inspired by the disappearance of his fellow-canoeist, Dick Conant.
Thanks for the Bitcoin! How Does It Work?
A quirky Toronto broadsheet, beloved by Justin Trudeau and Margaret Atwood, gets tech support from an Ethereum founder.
Did Spacemen, or People with Ramps, Build the Pyramids?
Elon Musk said aliens did it (“obv.”), but an amateur Egyptologist in Mississippi tested out a homemade lever gizmo to lift a two-ton block.
The Firing of Don Cherry, Hockey’s Self-Appointed Gatekeeper
Cherry was a pioneer in the identity politics of sports. The game was the game, and he expected you to conform to it.
Night of the Walking Redheads
Gingers gather upstate to celebrate the mysterious genetics behind their Day-Glo follicles, curse childhood bullies, and debunk the rumor that they’re going extinct.
The Brooklyn Startup Helping High-School Athletes Go Viral
Overtime wants to be the dominant sports network for kids who grew up with iPhones in their pockets.