The Week's Best 'Pacific Standard' Stories

Highlights you may have missed this week:

• "The Disappearing Soldier," by Kathryn Joyce
  The story of the Australian serviceman with PTSD who flew halfway around the world to die alone on the side of a mountain.

• "Deniers Have Launched a Losing Debate Over a 'Hiatus' in Global Warming," by Ben DeJarnette
  When a study last month found evidence of a slowdown in global warming, climate science skeptics gloated. Here's why they're wrong.

• "The Last of the California Quail," by Jimmy Tobias
  Why San Francisco, a city known for its innovative thinking and environmental leadership, has been unable to save its official bird.

• "Can Sports Environmentalists Aid in the Fight Against Climate Change?" by Brian J. Barth
  Can sports teams muscle environmentalism into the mainstream?

• "Are Cult Members Insane?" by Tristan Bronca
  A new study of cult murders in the U.S. suggests that even the deepest and most disturbing convictions are no proof of mental illness—nor, some argue, should they be.