Luk Kop didn’t seem to have the makings of a musical prodigy. He didn’t hum made-up tunes to himself as a youngster or shake his head when someone sang flat. He didn’t build instruments out of sticks and gourds or blow trumpet solos as a five-year-old. He had a brief moment of fame as a child actor, in the film “Operation Dumbo Drop,” but grew into a sullen and ungainly teen. When the composer and instrumentalist Dave Soldier first met him, in Thailand, in 2000, Luk Kop spent most of his time eating grass and hanging around with the other elephants. He’d been deemed too truculent to mix with tourists. - In the weeks before John Wayne Gacy’s scheduled execution, he was [far from reconciled to his fate](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1994/04/18/conversations-with-a-killer). - What HBO’s “Chernobyl” got right, and [what it got terribly wrong](https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-hbos-chernobyl-got-right-and-what-it-got-terribly-wrong). - Why does the Bible [end that way](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/05/big-reveal)? - A new era of strength competitions is testing the [limits of the human body](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/23/the-strongest-man-in-the-world). - How [an unemployed blogger](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/11/25/rocket-man-2) confirmed that Syria had used chemical weapons. - An essay by Toni Morrison: “ [The Work You Do, the Person You Are](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/toni-morrison-the-work-you-do-the-person-you-are).” [](https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/burkhard-bilger) [Burkhard Bilger](https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/burkhard-bilger) has been a staff writer at *The New Yorker* since 2001. His books include “ [Fatherland: A Memoir of War, Conscience, and Family Secrets](https://www.amazon.com/Fatherland-Memoir-Conscience-Family-Secrets/dp/0385353987).” More: [](https://www.newyorker.com/v2/offers/tnya01048?source=Site_0_JNY_NYR_DESKTOP_FOOTER_0_US_ACQ_SEGMENT_MYSTERY_TOTE_OCT_2025_ZZ)