Out There I Have to Smile By Heather Lanier Feature Heather Lanier explores the pressure to perform happiness. Friends: We Need Your Help to Fund More Stories
An Atlas of the Cosmos By Shannon Stirone Feature We’ve mapped Mars, the Moon, the solar system, even our own galaxy. Which means there is only one thing left to understand in this symbolic way and that is the entirety of the cosmos.
Binders Full of Men By Jennifer Berney Feature In an excerpt from her new book on fertility, feminism, and queer family-building, Jennifer Berney explores the possibilities of sperm banks.
Congratulations, You Now Own a Newspaper By Krista Stevens Highlight “’I think if the town survives, the newspaper will survive. I think we’re so intertwined. It’s not going to be one without the other. Our fates are going to be the same.'”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week By Longreads Weekly Top 5 This week, we’re sharing stories from Ben Mauk and Matt Huynh, Katie Engelhart, Devon O’Neil, Ariel Saramandi, and Tananarive Due.
“Can I Get You a Nice Chianti?” By Carolyn Wells Highlight Jodie Foster and Sir Anthony Hopkins talk about “The Silence of the Lambs” for the movie’s 30th anniversary.
When Death Came to Mauritius By Krista Stevens Highlight “Black waves bring animals to the town’s shore. Sticky corpses float on the oil.”
Graded by an Algorithm By Carolyn Wells Highlight “Algorithms…don’t go on mutant rampages, they only sometimes reveal and amplify the cruddy human biases that underpin them.”
“People are dying waiting” By Krista Stevens Highlight “Miguel Jr. and Jeannette are troubled that Miguel’s doctors didn’t present ECMO as an option, and then resisted the idea when the family suggested it.”
“Addiction is a thief of your goodbyes” By Krista Stevens Highlight “I got angry, my mother cried, the addicts got high. That became a holiday theme for years to come.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week By Longreads Weekly Top 5 This week, we’re sharing stories from David Armstrong and Marshall Allen, Jesselyn Cook, Jason Sheehan, Tom Lamont, and Heather Stokes.
“The Internet Is Inside Us”: Patricia Lockwood on the Portal, Twitter, and Her New Novel By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight In an interview at GQ, Patricia Lockwood talks about the perils of being extremely online.
Taking Your Butt to a Higher Level By Carolyn Wells Highlight “Working in concert with the perfect breasts, the perfect bottom turns the body into the shape of an S. ‘It’s the classic hourglass figure,’ said Melissa. ‘That’s what you go after.'”
Why Do So Many People Pretend to Be Native American? By Longreads Feature On Iron Eyes Cody and “the tribe of the Wannabe.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week By Longreads Weekly Top 5 This week, we’re sharing stories from David Armstrong and Marshall Allen, Jesselyn Cook, Jason Sheehan, Tom Lamont, and Heather Stokes.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week By Longreads Weekly Top 5 This week, we’re sharing stories from Clint Smith, Hanif Abdurraqib, Lise Olsen, Jaya Saxena, and Emma Carmichael.
The Heavy Burden of Breasts By Carolyn Wells Highlight “He covers his face with his hands. He doesn’t cry. He hasn’t really cried for eight years – since he started with testosterone injections.”
Justin Townes Earl: The Saint of Lost Causes By Krista Stevens Highlight Fellow singer-songwriter Jessica Lea Mayfield, who frequently toured with Earle, described his gift more simply: “He was able to explain trouble better than most.”
The Powerful Decide By Longreads Feature What makes good or bad design happen anywhere depends on who has the most power.
‘The Sea and Sky Decide What They Will Allow’ By Krista Stevens Highlight “I’m working on a book about Arctic explorers, and that means swimming in a sea of sorrow.”
The Grieving Landscape By Longreads Feature Upon discovering that her mother had been a member of the group Women Strike For Peace (WSP), Heidi Hutner becomes obsessed with feminist nuclear history.
This Week in Books: Farewell Longreads! I’m Taking This Rodeo to Substack. By Dana Snitzky Commentary To read my “This Week in Books” newsletter in the future, follow me on substack.
Palliative Brownies By Krista Stevens Highlight “I grew up in the grip of the epidemic, maturing as people I adored as surrogate aunties and uncles fell ill and vanished from our lives.”
“People are dying waiting” By Krista Stevens Highlight “Miguel Jr. and Jeannette are troubled that Miguel’s doctors didn’t present ECMO as an option, and then resisted the idea when the family suggested it.”
The Silencing of #MeToo Reporting in Germany By Seyward Darby Highlight How an HIV specialist in Germany is using media law to erase reporting of sexual abuse allegations against him.
What Happened to Cruise Ship Workers Once the Passengers Were Gone? By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Highlight At the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, cruise companies “went to great lengths to repatriate vacationers.” But for crew members, it was a different story.
Neighborhood Watch: The Strange Aftermath of a ‘Karen’ Encounter By Seyward Darby Highlight In a progressive New Jersey community, racial solidarity is complicated.
Longreads Best of 2020: Writing on COVID-19 By Cheri Lucas Rowlands Feature Our top story picks in COVID-19 reporting this year.
Out There I Have to Smile By Heather Lanier Feature Heather Lanier explores the pressure to perform happiness.
When Death Came to Mauritius By Krista Stevens Highlight “Black waves bring animals to the town’s shore. Sticky corpses float on the oil.”
“A Series of Small Collapses Caused by Continual Neglect” By Krista Stevens Highlight “A series of small collapses is how they come to be radicalized.”
Binders Full of Men By Jennifer Berney Feature In an excerpt from her new book on fertility, feminism, and queer family-building, Jennifer Berney explores the possibilities of sperm banks.
