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New Longreads Essays and Features

Vigilantes at Dawn

A forgotten deportation, a family archive, and the cost of belonging.

The Endless Self

Exploring animal life beyond the limits of human understanding.

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Recent Editors’ Picks

Lords of the Ring

Joshua Hunt | Harper’s Magazine | February 18, 2026 | 6,165 words

“The cultural politics of sumo wrestling.”

Orcas and Ourselves

Jason Colby | Aeon | February 9, 2026 | 4,500 words

“Sea pandas or sadistic killers? These enigmatic creatures invite contradictory labels that say far more about us than them.”

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Weekly Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Recommending stories by Gaby Del Valle, Sheila Heti, Chris Pomorski, Louise Bokkenheuser, and Lida Zeitlin-Wu.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Eve Fairbanks, Gideon Lewis-Kraus, Rochelle L. Johnson, Joseph Winters and Tik Root, and Miles Ellingham.

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Learn to Love Your Search Results Again.

Introducing the Longreads Story Recommender.

More Longreads Essays and Features

By All Measures

Our problems are too vast, our distance from them too great. How do we navigate our derangement of scale?

Anatomy of Absolute Power

The people of Wilcox County, Alabama, remember a longtime sheriff as a god or a monsterโ€”it just depends on who you ask.

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Longreads Reading Lists

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