The Atlantic

Our cub reporter exposes China’s soft underbelly.

How the author helped Afghans build a thriving soap and body-oil business—and overcame the incompetence of America’s aid establishment

"The Clover hit the coffee world with the force of a sexy stranger new in town. The stir was understandable. No coffee machine looks quite like it. The action is not in the front but on top, where customers can see it. And it is hypnotic.... I kept ordering different coffees, less to sample them than to watch the machine, which had the appeal (if not the colored lights) of a vintage jukebox. Every time the screen rose majestically, I half expected a miniature band to be on it, à la Radio City...."