Queens of Infamy: Lucrezia Borgia By Anne Thériault Feature History may have pigeonholed her as Renaissance Italy’s most notorious seductress, but it’s high time we give the Duchess of Ferrara a closer look. Friends: We Need Your Help to Fund More Stories
The Strange and Dangerous World of America’s Big Cat People By Rachel Nuwer Feature A headline-grabbing murder-for-hire plot helped expose the dark side of exotic animal ownership in the U.S. Is there now enough momentum to reform the industry?
Lloyd’s Mattress By Scott Korb Feature Scott Korb contemplates disgust — his own, yours — at the kind of magical thinking that promises (with fingers crossed) to protect us from all the causes of dying.
Risking Your Life For a Selfie By Carolyn Wells Highlight “With the right hashtag, anyone can view thousands of potential destinations — and choose which to visit based on aesthetics alone.”
Rosanne Cash: Living Between the Notes On Stage By Krista Stevens Highlight “It turns out that when I’m performing, I have only half the available light; the audience has the other half.”
Instacart: Shop ‘Til You Drop By Krista Stevens Highlight ‘“People are disposable to them,” Rachel says. “They don’t care.”’
Among the Last in An Iron Lung By Krista Stevens Highlight “He likes talking about polio and the lung, and about his life, because what terrifies him…is that the world will forget what polio was like, and what he achieved in spite of it.”
Caring Without Touching By Carolyn Wells Highlight “Everything about the way we work has been transformed.” Gavin Francis talks about life as a Scottish doctor during COVID-19.
This Week in Books: Pale Horse on the One Hand, Pale Rider on the Other By Dana Snitzky Commentary I sometimes forget that it’s all the same thing.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week By Longreads Weekly Top 5 This week, we’re sharing stories from Teju Cole, Barton Gellman, Dexter Filkins, Rebecca May Johnson, and Navneet Alang.
Brené Brown: ‘I think we’re looking for each other.’ By Krista Stevens Highlight “In a country where nobody can agree on much, we seem to agree on Brené Brown.”
Yes, The US Government Spies on US Journalists By Krista Stevens Highlight “If we do not know what our government is doing, we cannot hold it accountable. If we do know, our enemies know too. That can be dangerous.”
What Happens When You Go Offline By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight The Information Age is also the age of information overload. Here’s what one person learned about the human brain after cleansing himself of screens.
What Happens If I Don’t Like Fiona Apple? By Soraya Roberts Feature It seems like everyone in the world loves “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.” So why don’t I? On the isolation of disconnection.
Shelved: The Misfits’ 12 Hits From Hell By Tom Maxwell Feature For a bunch of rock ‘n’ rollers creating the horror punk genre, the Misfits sure were sensitive.
On the Hotness of Not Getting Any By Soraya Roberts Feature Edging, or extending the time leading up to an orgasm, is almost a character of its own in Normal People, Run, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It also has a lot to teach us about sexuality and consent.
Instacart: Shop ‘Til You Drop By Krista Stevens Highlight ‘“People are disposable to them,” Rachel says. “They don’t care.”’
The Lie of ‘One Last Time’ with My Ex By Ella Dawson Feature Ella Dawson learns about the perils of break-up sex the hard way.
This Week in Books: Pale Horse on the One Hand, Pale Rider on the Other By Dana Snitzky Commentary I sometimes forget that it’s all the same thing.
This Week in Books: Anarchist Ice Cream and Other Dairies By Dana Snitzky Commentary Or, the newsletter in which I conclude that time is a flat circle.
This Week in Books: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask! By Dana Snitzky Reading List “Oh, all the one-way tickets! / I haven’t found anything / more sorrowful than you / in the pockets of the world.”
This Week in Books: Several Nihilistic Frenchmen By Dana Snitzky Commentary This week critics have looked to Huysmans, Camus and Jean-Philippe Toussaint for COVID-era inspiration.
This Week In Books: I Bought Some Books By Dana Snitzky Reading List Am I ghoul for buying all these plague books?
On the Hotness of Not Getting Any By Soraya Roberts Feature Edging, or extending the time leading up to an orgasm, is almost a character of its own in Normal People, Run, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It also has a lot to teach us about sexuality and consent.
What Do We Do Without Live Music? By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight Those of us who live for musical performances must find other ways to temporarily live without them.
How Covid-19 Could Reshape Urban Life By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight Cities were vibrant, culturally rich places to live before the pandemic. We can only speculate about how cities will be after.
How China Censored Citizens and the Press on COVID-19 By Krista Stevens Highlight China maintains its swift, open response to coronavirus bought time for the world. Journalists, had their stories not been deleted, will tell you otherwise.
‘Hand to hand to hand’: How Coronavirus Spread Aboard the Diamond Princess By Krista Stevens Highlight “…the ship…provided the world’s best data set on the virus, confirming crucial facts about how the disease spread, especially through asymptomatic carriers.”
Queens of Infamy: Lucrezia Borgia By Anne Thériault Feature History may have pigeonholed her as Renaissance Italy’s most notorious seductress, but it’s high time we give the Duchess of Ferrara a closer look.
Lloyd’s Mattress By Scott Korb Feature Scott Korb contemplates disgust — his own, yours — at the kind of magical thinking that promises (with fingers crossed) to protect us from all the causes of dying.
On the Hotness of Not Getting Any By Soraya Roberts Feature Edging, or extending the time leading up to an orgasm, is almost a character of its own in Normal People, Run, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It also has a lot to teach us about sexuality and consent.
How to Pitch Personal Essays to Longreads: An Updated Guide By Sari Botton Highlight New submissions guidelines, plus information about our new essay series.
The Lie of ‘One Last Time’ with My Ex By Ella Dawson Feature Ella Dawson learns about the perils of break-up sex the hard way.
