Latest Stories
Most recently published stories on Vocal.
3 Impossible Planets That Defy the Laws of Astronomy
For as long as humans have looked up at the stars, we’ve tried to make sense of our place in the universe. We’ve found thousands of exoplanets orbiting distant suns, and we thought we had a pretty good handle on how they formed.
By Areeba Umair15 days ago in FYI
THE RIP Review: Does Joe Carnahan’s New Heist Thriller Deliver or Fall Apart Under Pressure?
Director Joe Carnahan has always been something of an American counterpart to Guy Ritchie—he gravitates toward gritty cops-and-robbers chaos, high-velocity shootouts, and snappy criminal banter. And true to form, his latest project, THE RIP, leans right into that wheelhouse.
By Bella Anderson15 days ago in Journal
Who Was The Lady in Room 2805?
Jennifer Fairgate, a friendly woman who spoke with a German accent, checked into Room 2805 at the Oslo Plaza Hotel in Norway on May 31, 1995. She arrived alone and paid for the room in cash. Hotel staff did not request identification.
By Criminal Matters15 days ago in Criminal
Alabama’s Sunken Secret: The 60,000-Year-Old Forest Hidden Under the Gulf
Imagine diving sixty feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, about fifteen miles off the coast of Alabama. You aren't looking for a shipwreck or buried pirate gold. Instead, as the bubbles clear, you see something much more haunting: the Alabama underwater forest. This is a prehistoric world of giant cypress trees, still rooted in the mud where they grew tens of thousands of years before the Great Pyramids were even built.
By Areeba Umair15 days ago in FYI
The $23,000-a-Day Question: Ephrata spends $8.5 million a year for police. What are we actually buying?
The Invoice Arrives Every year, Ephrata property owners receive a tax bill. A massive chunk of that bill goes to one place: The Police Department. We are told this is the price of safety. We are told that we have a "Gold Standard" department that warrants premium funding.
By Sunshine Firecracker15 days ago in Criminal
Rewind to the Nineties: My Top 10 Movies That Still Feel Brand New
There’s a certain magic to the 1990s. It wasn't just about grunge, dial-up internet, or neon windbreakers; it was a decade that produced some truly unforgettable cinema. Movies from the '90s hit differently. They had a distinct flavor, a blend of pre-CGI reliance on practical effects, raw storytelling, and the birth of a new kind of blockbuster that still feels accessible and human, even today.
By George Evan15 days ago in Journal
Dangerous High Bridge
Public Service Announcement Refreshing air fills your lungs, 420 feet above the river. Inhale the sweet aroma of evergreen trees, and experience scents the wind brings to you. The cascading, rushing river renews life. Ravens and eagles soar, calling in joyous freedom, catching updrafts. Giant evergreen trees stack the hillsides or create river turns with their fallen branches. Some days, clouds of cumulus, stratus, or cirrus float above, shifting into animal shapes. Vaping or smoking sullies the clean air. Forbidden. Campfires, loud music, and alcohol drinking and partying destroy the serenity. Forbidden.
By Andrea Corwin 15 days ago in Poets
Him
Him. An unsuspecting commuter on an A-train... he sits gazing out the window, immersed in the view, seeing beyond a world of art which whizzes by as the landscape undulates, ebbs and flows. There is a surreal, dreamlike and beautiful view of nature beyond the window, where bamboo stalks grow impossibly tall, reaching towards a sky painted in the swirling, vibrant colors of a Baroque masterpiece. The interior of the train is dimly lit, casting long shadows. The peace it exudes evokes a painterly illustration with dramatic bright and dark lighting filled with rich textures.
By Antoni De'Leon15 days ago in Fiction
