This special super-sized issue contains ten articles about the people who gather, make, cook, serve, and eat food that is so mundane you might not give it a second thought - and so exotic you might not give it a first taste.

Certainly, all the writing in The New Yorker is memorable, and this collection is no exception. The authors include such best sellers as Malcolm Gladwell, Seymour Hersh, and Jonathan Franzen - and the subjects range from the lives of short-order cooks to the secrets of college admissions.

From the corridors of power in Washington to the prison cells of Guantanamo to the disease-ravaged communities of Africa, The New Yorker takes you directly to the scene of today's biggest stories. Along the way, you'll hear great reporting by such best-selling writers as Malcolm Gladwell, David Remnick, Ken Auletta, and Seymour Hersh.

"Alien Nation" by John Cassidy; "The Soundtrack of Your Life" by David Owen; "Nostalgia" by George Saunders; "The Understudy" by David Sedaris; "Here's Why" by Malcolm Gladwell; "Drawn to Gypsies" by John Updike; and "Splitsville, U.S.A." by Nancy Franklin.

This edition features summaries of two great business books: Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, and The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave by Leigh Branham.

Welcome to the January 2005 edition of Audible Fast Company. This month's edition features five articles. First, we will hear profiles of Bill Drayton and Malcolm Gladwell--two giants in the world of business innovation who can help you to maximize creative thinking in your own projects. Then, we'll hear about Yahoo's solution to the diminishing impact of traditional advertising, as well as how the Cartoon Network manages to stay cutting edge despite its traditionally conservative corporate owners.

There are seven articles in this edition: "Bombs", by Steve Coll; "Return of the Nativist", by Ryan Lizza; "Tubular", by Nancy Franklin; "Journey Into Night", by David Sedaris; "The King of Sentences", by Jonathan Lethem; "None of the Above", by Malcolm Gladwell; and "Hard Life", by David Denby

"Risk Factor", by George Packer; "Most Likely to Succeed", by Malcolm Gladwell; "Atomic John", by David Samuels; "Is There a Problem Here?", by Larry Doyle; and "Ring Cycles", by Anthony Lane.

"Read It and Weep" by Adam Gopnik; "Tear, Slap, Clack" by Susan Sheehan; "The Risk Pool" by Malcolm Gladwell; "Manifold Destiny" by Sylvia Nasar and David Gruber; and "Borderlines" by Anthony Lane.

"Rebuilding" by Nicholas Lemann; "The Zombie Hunters" by Evan Ratliff; "When Pain Remains" by Jerome Groopman; "Early Music" by Jeffrey Eugenides; and "Getting In" by Malcolm Gladwell.