In an era when everything digital is ripe for theft, whether that’s apps, music, books, or movies, it is interesting to read a story about the crime of ideas: one magician stealing another magician’s tricks. The Honor System, an article in Esquire Magazine, is the story of Teller, as in the quiet, diminutive half of Penn & Teller. This profile is framed within a crime story, the story of how a Dutch magician named Gerard Bakardy stole one of Teller’s most famous tricks, demonstrated it on YouTube and sold the kit. When Teller caught up to him and even went so far as to sue him in court, Bakardy disappeared.

This is a great article, one of the best I have read in a long time.

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Some other long form articles you might find interesting this weekend:

The Gangster Princess of Beverly Hills: the story of Lisette Lee — heiress, actress, singer, and model — who had it all, including a jet full of pot.

Shattered Dreams: the story of a Russian mathematics genius, his disappearance, and one reporters attempt to find him.

17 Days In November: the story of brothers Jason and Gregory Halman, the latter of which played baseball for the Seattle Mariners, and their descent into death.