Going back to the Reagan-era war on drugs, a Russian spy story, etc

We asked 12 mass killers: ‘What would have stopped you?’ In America today, mass shootings remain the most terrible metric that distinguishes the country from the rest of the world. And thanks to a 22-year Federal ban on researching their causes, getting inside the minds of those responsible is largely the work of private investigators. British journalist Alex Hannaford wrote to the 50 perpetrators currently incarcerated to find out how much danger he and his family face. Twelve wrote back…, from GQ

A Spy Story: Sergei Skripal Was a Little Fish. He Had a Big Enemy, from The New York Times

Overdose and Punishment When Chad Baker died from a lethal combination of cocaine and heroin, prosecutors charged Tommy Kosto, his friend and fellow drug user, with killing him—a tactic from the Reagan-era war on drugs that is gaining popularity around the country and making today’s opioid crisis even worse, from The New Republic

Slow Burn Leon Neyfakh excavates the strange subplots and forgotten characters of recent political history—and finds surprising parallels to the present. Season 1 captured what it was like to live through Watergate; Season 2 does the same with the saga of Bill Clinton's impeachment, podcast from Slate Plus

The Falling Man An Unforgettable Story, from GQ