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Longreads features

Living in an Alive World

Soft eyes, deep listening, and other ways to extend human perception beyond our limits.

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Recent editors’ picks

Middle of Somewhere

Natalia Galicza | Deseret News | May 22, 2206 | 3,009 words

“One remote highway in Nevada links far-flung communities that attracted settlers for generations. Why are some still drawn there today?”

The Mars Delusion

Henry Wismayer | Noēma | June 18, 2026 | 6,899 words

“Establishing a human colony on Mars is fraught with risk. Why are so many people obsessed with achieving it?”

Secrets of the Magus

Mark Singer | The New Yorker | April 5, 1993 | 14,754 words

“Ricky Jay does closeup magic that flouts reality.”

Return to the River

Ian Dille | Texas Highways | June 8, 2026 | 3,823 words

“Nearly a year after the devastating July 4 floods, Hill Country communities are still grieving and rebuilding, while hoping to welcome visitors back to the Guadalupe.”

How the Crossword Conquered America

Imogen West-Knights | Slate | June 22, 2026 | 6,256 words

“Even in a boom time for games, the decidedly old-fashioned puzzles are more popular than ever. I went to the best place on Earth to understand why.”

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Weekly Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Sloane Crosley; Zadie Smith; Mark Johnson and Saumya Khandelwal; Todd Kliman; and Sheila Liming.

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Learn to Love Your Search Results Again.

Introducing the Longreads Story Recommender.

The Longreads questionnaire

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Excerpts from The Atavist Magazine, our sister publication

The Fugitive Childhood of a Cocaine Smuggler’s Daughters

“When their parents ripped two young sisters from their privileged lives, gave them fake names, and took them on the lam, they thought it was because their father was in trouble with the IRS. It would be years before they learned the truth about his life of crime.”

Open Season

Colorado’s San Luis Valley was a wildlife poacher’s paradise. Then an undercover federal agent arrived.

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Longreads reading lists

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