Hard hit

“I’m going straight to the White House,” John Kerry says. “I’m thrilled with where the campaign is right now.” Just 90 minutes earlier, on this warm afternoon in late September, he stood on an outdoor stage at the University of Pennsylvania campus in downtown Philadelphia and gazed out onto a sea of 20,000 supporters. The school had hosted only one other rally this big in recent memory – when Bill Clinton came through on his re-election tour in 1996. It’s heady stuff when a first-time presidential candidate draws crowds comparable in size to those of a popular sitting president. “I feel as if we have finally gotten the American people and the press simultaneously focused on the real issues,” he says. “Things I’ve been talking about for two years. George Bush has made catastrophic mistakes in Iraq, catastrophic mistakes in foreign policy. He’s shown bad judgment, made bad choices about how to proceed in a war on terror. I think he’s also out of touch with the American people on what … [Read more...] about Kerry Fights Back

Ten years ago, most people hadn’t even heard of a podcast. Now, they’re an integral part of the media landscape, and none more so than those about true crime . To rank the best, we polled true-crime aficionados about their favorite shows, then sifted through the top choices. Whether they cover a new case each episode or present a story over the course of a season, these picks each shaped the genre in their own way. Some are the results of deep investigative journalism; others are by amateur sleuths trying to help families find answers. Some focus on bringing publicity to cold cases in underrepresented communities, and some changed the way we think about crime storytelling altogether. Perhaps equally important, they’re all great listening, promising the kind of captivating intrigue that continues to draw generation after generation to true crime: tragedy, mystery, a search for answers, and always the hunger for justice. 25. CounterClock Fans of procedurals will bond with … [Read more...] about The 25 Best True-Crime Podcasts of All Time

From the beginning of his career, Mike Tyson has been irresistible to Hollywood’s various screens: when you’re the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world with a high-pitched lisp, you’re an instant surreal punchline. Iron Mike has played along in a slew of rap videos, movies ranging from Rocky Balboa to Scary Movie 5, and TV shows ranging from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit to The Simpsons (which rendered an unauthorized version of him as Drederick Tatum). Here’s seven of our favorite Tyson cameos over the years. Read an excerpt from Mike Tyson’s ‘Undisputed Truth’ 1. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, “I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson” (1989) Back when Will Smith was a rapper rather than box-office king and show-biz patriarch, he needed a hit to follow up “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” He came up with this tall tale about having an attack of hubris and getting in the ring with Tyson (despite the opening warning of somebody who claimed he saw a Tyson … [Read more...] about 7 Knockout Mike Tyson Cameos