Every year I attend the Goldsmith Prize presentation for investigative reporting at Harvard. The ceremony – hosted by the Kennedy School of Government's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy – is always inspirational, and has certainly pushed me to bust balls and pursue tougher stories in my own career.

Alright, foodies. For those of you paying attention, you know the release-date for the hotly anticipated Lucky Peach Issue 2: The Sweet Spot is upon us. For those of you who have no idea what I just said, your world is about to be rocked. Regardless of who you are, get pumped: we got our hands on an advance copy.

In his unparalleled exposé on the plight of urban vermin and those of us who live among them, Rats author Robert Sullivan describes one scene in which a woman is viciously attacked by rodents during the 1979 New York City garbage strike. The Phoenix also collected some revolting rat tales.

KENMORE SQUARE, FALL 2007 A local marijuana advocate reports that his girlfriend’s car has had its battery cables chewed by furry critters.