Rene Chun

Modern Life Has Made It Easier for Serial Killers to Thrive

They get away with their crimes about 40 percent of the time.

• Rene Chun
• October 2019 Issue

The Dutch War on Tourists

Outnumbered by drunk and disorderly visitors, the Netherlands fights back.

• Rene Chun
• September 2019 Issue

Why New Zealanders Love DIY Coffins

For the nearly departed, a new bucket-list entry: “Build my casket”

• Rene Chun
• August 2019 Issue

People Who Pay People to Kill People

The twisted logic behind hiring a hit man

• Rene Chun
• July 2019 Issue

Movie-Prop Cash Is Fooling Cashiers

The strange psychology of why so many people fail to notice obviously counterfeit money

• Rene Chun
• June 2019 Issue

Watch Your Wallet

Why pickpockets love our digitally distracted age

• Rene Chun
• May 2019 Issue

Why Americans Don’t Cheat on Their Taxes

The weirdly hopeful story of how the U.S. came to be a leader in tax compliance

• Rene Chun
• April 2019 Issue

Workplace Theft Is on the Rise

As the line between work and home blurs, office supplies attract sticky fingers.

• Rene Chun
• March 2019 Issue

Ending Weed Prohibition Hasn’t Stopped Drug Crimes

Marijuana legalization was supposed to decrease crime—but the reality is more complicated.

• Rene Chun
• January/February 2019 Issue

The Great Virginia Grape Heist

And other tales of agricultural banditry

• Rene Chun
• December 2018 Issue

A Shocking Number of Killers Murder Their Co-workers

Homicide is the third-most-prevalent cause of workplace death.

• Rene Chun
• October 2018 Issue

The Owl Thieves of Sweden

As the country ditches cash, criminals turn to stealing owls.

• Rene Chun
• June 2018 Issue

China’s New Frontiers in Dystopian Tech

Facial-recognition technologies are proliferating, from airports to bathrooms.

• Rene Chun
• April 2018 Issue

The Banana Trick and Other Acts of Self-Checkout Thievery

“Anyone who pays for more than half of their stuff in self checkout is a total moron.”

• Rene Chun
• March 2018 Issue

Choke-Proof Food That Tastes Like the Real Thing

In Japan, where more people die each year from choking than in traffic accidents, mush is getting a high-tech treatment.

• Rene Chun
• January/February 2018 Issue

Big in Venezuela: Bitcoin Mining

Hyperinflation has driven thousands to seek out unorthodox currency.

• Rene Chun
• September 2017 Issue