The Headhunter’s Trophy Case The headhunter is up for tenure, and is more than ready to settle a few misconceptions with a stroll through his most prized pieces. A story by Tobias Seamon, with pictures by Joshua Allen.

Oof This past summer Oof visited New York City from Osaka. Having never been here before, she spent her days exploring, camera in hand, recording a personal log of New York City with an eye to the everyday (but hardly ordinary) people and things that surround us. And at the end of the summer she stayed up all night covering a friend’s kitchen table in tiny strips of pink tape. Andrew Womack interviews her.

Sharing Smokes With the Holy Spirit Bumping into an acquaintance can change your day in profound ways. This is especially true when your friend has recently died, ascended to heaven, and been reborn as a vagrant.

Birnbaum v. Jonathan Safran Foer Are we comforted by the official account of Sept. 11—the victims, the heroes, the assigned roles of good and evil—or do the generalizations shortchange our experiences? Robert Birnbaum talks to novelist Jonathan Safran Foer about his new book, the writing life, and what it’s like to be reviewed by Updike.