Thoughtful stories for thoughtless times.
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This week, we’re continuing our Best of 2024 series and celebrating the original writing we publish on Longreads, including personal narratives, reported essays, and reading lists. We’ll also recognize this year’s top editors’ picks, published at outlets—big and small—across the web.
Today’s list compiles our 10 most-read Longreads essays. At number one, we start with Jonah Walters’ sharp, well-researched essay about volcanoes, earthquakes, and our culture’s fascination with natural disasters. As you scroll down the list, you’ll find nine notable essays, including thoughtful explorations of food, dangerous encounters in the wilderness, and more.
Support from readers like you make this writing and journalism possible, so thank you! There’s more to come in 2025.
—Carolyn, Cheri, Krista, Peter & Seyward
The Rip in the World
On volcanoes, earthquakes, and our attraction to disaster.
I Nearly Died Drowning. Here’s What It’s Like to Survive.
On coming to terms with a near-death experience.
I was Hypnotized as a Teen. Was it Dangerous?
Each year, comedy hypnotists bring thousands of willing participants on stage to be hypnotized in front of crowds—harmless fun or risky business?
Insatiable: A Life Without Eating
When my Crohn’s disease took away food, it took what it means to be human.
The Lessons of Lore
Ghost stories reveal our collective anxieties amid times of change.
Stumbling Can Be Lovely
On the many ways we fall—and the beauty of getting back up.
Fuel, Medicine, Pleasure
What could it mean to give yourself the food you need to keep going? No punishing, no guilt, no withholding. Just nourishment.
Death of the Hiker
Lost on a dangerous trail, Leyton Cassidy’s thoughts take her down a dark path.
Danger on the Divide
“If I’d felt more confident on the route, if he hadn’t made that comment, if we’d been communicating more, would I have pushed for another day off? If, if, if.”
Safety Net
These days, when you work as a librarian in America, there is no lack of emergencies.
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