Longreads features

The Age of Dinosaurs

“Ruminating on extinction, under the slanted tutelage of my child, felt like a responsible thing to do.”

Hollow Body

On attention to craft in defiance of AI.

Defining Color

“A deep pink that is bluer, lighter, and stronger than average coral, bluer than fiesta, and bluer and stronger than sweet william.”

Into the Darkness

Germanyโ€™s Black Forest faces a future of transformation. So do the people who have lived there for centuries.

My Unlikely Existence

Is AI helping prospective parents game the fertility lottery? Should it?

An Internet of Checkpoints

A mysterious YouTube video gave thousands of people a place to breathe. Then it vanished.

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Recent editors’ picks

Menace on the Streets

Caitlin Walsh Miller | Macleanโ€™s | April 6, 2026 | 5,051 words

“E-bikes and e-scooters are remaking the rules of the road. Canadaโ€™s cities arenโ€™t ready.”

Finding the Cattle Queen

Rachel Ossip | Cake Zine and n+1 | April 3, 2026 | 4,059 words

“Steakhouse royalty, feminist icon, fungible tourism graphicโ€”she deserves a proper title.”

The Strange Saga of Faces of Death

Sam Adams | Slate | April 7, 2026 | 2,6590 words

โ€œIt scarred countless childrenโ€”and allegedly left one dead. Many still believe it was all real. Some of it was.โ€

Bright, Built World

Joseph Osmundson | The Los Angeles Review of Books | April 5, 2026 | 4,717 words

“A reflection on how the poets Richard Siken and Anne Carson responded to losing their language.”

The Fantasy Baseball Ties That Bind

Jordan Ritter Conn | The Ringer | March 27, 2026 | 3,867 words

โ€œHow do fantasy sports leagues fit into the larger story of the male loneliness epidemic? You might be surprised.โ€

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Weekly Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

This week collects standout work from David Moudy-Miller, Caitlin Wash Miller, Kevin T. Baker, Alex Vadukul, and Jordan Ritter Conn.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Highlighting excellent stories by Charles Bethea, Mahmoud Mushtaha, Geoffrey Gray, Luke Ottenhof, and Matthew Shaer.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Megan Oโ€™Grady, Alexander Sammon, Alaina Demopoulos, Blair Braverman, and Jack Crosbie.

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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 Good Catholics of Buffalo

With thousands of US soldiers dying in Vietnam, a righteous group of young New Yorkers embarked on a secret mission to bring the war machine to its knees.

The Dark and Stormy Tale of a ShantyTok Band

When a scraggly band of folk musicians arrived to tour the UK, residents of a small Welsh town were enamoredโ€”until they learned that the bandโ€™s leader ruled with an iron fist.

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Longreads reading lists

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