Inside a notorious sex-trafficking corridor in L.A.

October 26, 2025

Along a roughly 50-block stretch on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, exists one of the most notorious corridors for sex trafficking in the U.S., “The Blade.” In recent years, officers working in the corridor have seen the magnitude of child sex trafficking explode. The reporter Emily Baumgaertner Nunn embedded with vice investigators as they carried out undercover operations to arrest traffickers as well as aid workers trying to rescue minors, many of whom were foster kids turned runaways turned recruits, drawn in by a new friend on Instagram who offered to help them get by.

A girl in high heels, pink satin shorts and a black and white top is walking along Figueroa Street at night. She is crossing a side street toward a car stopped at the corner.

Katy Grannan for The New York Times

Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street?

Inside the effort to pull minors from ‘the Blade,’ one of the most notorious sex-trafficking corridors in the United States.

By Emily Baumgaertner Nunn

For this week’s Voyages Issue, the artist Balarama Heller traveled to Sulawesi, Indonesia to photograph verdant rainforests, explosive volcanoes and ancient cave paintings with a transcendent approach.

Photograph by Balarama Heller for The New York Times.

FEATURES

A volcano covered in bright green plant life is dappled in sunlight as a dark cloud hovers over the top.

Balarama Heller for The New York Times

The Island That Keeps the Earth’s Secrets

Sulawesi, Indonesia, blurs the boundaries between myth and ecology. What might it reveal about our past – or destiny?

Photographs and Text by Balarama Heller

A landscape of the Badlands in South Dakota, with a road curving along a grassy area through rugged rocky peaks.

Gregory Halpern/Magnum, for The New York Times

I Tried to Toughen Up My Son. Things Didn’t Go as Planned.

A trip to the Badlands with my 8-year old offered lessons in boyhood — and manhood.

By Sam Graham-Felsen

Naila Ruechel for The New York Times

A Teen in Love With a Chatbot Killed Himself. Can the Chatbot Be Held Responsible?

A mother in Florida filed a lawsuit against an A.I. start-up, alleging its product led to her son’s death. The company’s defense raises a thorny legal question.

By Jesse Barron

Illustration by Lydia Ortiz

‘You’re Going to Lose Your Mind’: My Three-Day Retreat in Total Darkness

The author spent days in a room with no light. Who would he be when he emerged?

By Chris Colin

Close shot of a broken skateboard sitting next to a person’s red-sneakered feet with fallen leaves and graffiti decorating the surrounding concrete ground and wall.

Sara Messinger for The New York Times

The Ultimate Pilgrimage for the Middle-Aged Skateboarder

One of America’s most iconic ’90s skate spots has now been rebuilt in — of all places — Malmo, Sweden.

By Willy Staley

The New York Times

The Interview

Anthony Hopkins on Quitting Drinking and Finding God

The actor, now 87, talks about his childhood, the epiphanies in his life and more.

40 MIN LISTEN

COLUMNS

Illustration by Tomi Um

The Ethicist

What Should a Congregation Have Told a Betrayed Wife?

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on the responsibility of a community in a member’s time of need, when to push back on friends’ vile online commentary and more.

By Kwame Anthony Appiah

A photo illustration of a strip mall with a dreamy border.

Photo illustration by Matthew Brandt

Letter of Recommendation

The Case for Strip Malls, the Antidote to Shiny, Soulless City Luxury

They are hard to love. But they are quirky, outcast spaces that define a community’s unique character.

By Ismail Muhammad

A photo illustration of cartoon characters from “SuperKitties.”

Photo illustration by Alex and Winona Merto

Screenland

The Villains on Pre-K TV Are Cuddly, Annoying and … Morally Interesting

Streaming services have brought a glut of animated shows targeted at small children — and an interesting approach to depicting conflict.

By Robin Kaiser-Schatzlein

Dark red pear slices topped with pistachios, cardamom crumble and crème fraîche on three white plates sit on a blue, purple and red tablecloth accompanied by three drinking glasses.

Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop stylist: Heather Greene.

The Dessert That Changed My Life

These unforgettable poached pears set a food writer on her trajectory.

By Melissa Clark

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