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New Longreads Essays and Features

The Endless Self

Exploring animal life beyond the limits of human understanding.

When Hannibal Lecter Took Over

With “The Silence of the Lambs” hitting theaters, Orion wanted a hit. They didn’t anticipate an antihero.

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Recent Editors’ Picks

The End of Mail in Denmark

Anna Juul (Tr. Caroline Waight) | The Dial | February 17, 2026 | 2,481 words

“Who will mourn the last letter?”

Echoic Memory

CMarie Fuhrman | Emergence Magazine | February 12, 2026 | 2,507 words

“I am a person of ground. This is not to say grounded, but of earth, attached to the earth.”

My Mother’s Body

Louise Bokkenheuser | Virginia Quarterly Review | February 12, 2026 | 6,133 words

“The Mysteries of a Loved One’s Case File.”

ICE Is Pushing Minneapolis Underground

Gaby Del Valle | The Verge | February 12, 2026 | 6,519 words

“After ICE raids, tear gassing protestors, and two killings, DHS ‘border czar’ Tom Homan arrived in the Twin Cities to announce a winding down of immigration enforcement. But the battle…

Mama Don’t Take My Chromophobia Away

Lida Zeitlin-Wu | Los Angeles Review of Books | February 4, 2026 | 3,068 words

“Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year is selling us a white fantasy.”

Compost Modernity!

Yogi Hale Hendlin | Aeon | February 10, 2026 | 3,208 words

“The vision of solarpunk: joining nature with technology in vibrantly inclusive ways to create a world that truly blooms.”

Soapbox

Dan Kois | Slate | February 17, 2026 | 7,868 words

“The humble bar of soap used to define the American way. Now it’s dying. I will not let it go down without a fight.”

Don’t Close Your Teeth

Cynthia Zarin | Los Angeles Review of Books | November 17, 2025 | 3,349 words

“Cynthia Zarin traces the rise of fascism through the diary entries of Virginia Woolf.”

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Weekly Top 5

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.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Andy Greenberg, Darshana Narayanan, Lauren Lee White, Sarah Stillman, and Gabriel Furshong.

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Introducing the Longreads Story Recommender.

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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?
by B. R. Cohen

Anatomy of Absolute Power

The people of Wilcox County, Alabama, remember a longtime sheriff as a god or a monster—it just depends on who you ask.
by Longreads

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Longreads Reading Lists

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