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Let’s celebrate the reads that resonated this year.

Our favorite nonfiction stories on the web, recommended by the Longreads editors.

Browse this year’s collection

Weekly Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Recommending stories from Kate Mossman, Luke Winkie, Lou Stoppard, Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne, and Rosa Lyster.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Recommending stories from Yasmin Tayag, Elliott Woods, David Ramsey, Larissa Diakiw, and A.S. Hamrah.

Editors’ Picks

On Walking

Ira Sukrungruang | The Sun | December 2025 | 3,018 words

“To love walking is to love the body, and this has been a barrier for me.”

The Dead Mall Society

Lana Hall | Hazlitt | December 10, 2025 | 2,889 words

“Standing in the wreckage of these spaces unlocks a sensation people often crave, but can’t name.”

If a Tree Falls

Rosa Lyster | Harper’s Magazine | December 17, 2025 | 6,939 words

“The trial of the Sycamore Gap killers.”

The Birth Keepers

Sirin Kale and Lucy Osborne | The Guardian | November 22, 2025 | 8,556 words

“Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births–now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world.”

The Strange Fate of Flight 2069

Kate Mossman | The New Statesman | December 11, 2025 | 6,764 words

“Months before 9/11 a passenger seized control of a Boeing 747 and nearly crashed it into the Sahara. Everyone survived but no one quite recovered. How do you measure the…

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Longreads Essays and Features

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Longreads Reading Lists

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