Taken and Told

A filmmaker was producing a documentary series on the Iran hostage crisis. Then her father went missing overseas.
by Longreads
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Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Human ingenuity in the face of crumbling infrastructure. One man’s quest to save a bird that might already be extinct. The cultural schism dividing a major musical genre. A personal essay braiding space and family.…

by Longreads

Editors’ Picks

Notes from Grief Camp

Mitchell Conksy | The Walrus | August 9, 2023 | 3,500 words

“Every summer, more than a hundred kids spend a weekend at Camp Erin swimming and canoeing. They also learn to deal with death.”

The Dance of Śiva

Kanya Kanchana | Asymptote | August 9, 2023 | 3,092 words

“Śiva moves in dance, in sculpture, in painting, in poetry, in ritual, in physics … And still he is not done. What are we to do?”

America’s Bee Problem Is an Us Problem

Lex Pryor | The Ringer | August 3, 2023 | 6,482

“Beekeepers went away for vacation and returned to depleted hives. Entire apiaries collapsed in the span of weeks.”

Phoebe Invincible

Joy Press | Vanity Fair | August 1, 2023 | 4,846 words

“On a long ramble through London, Phoebe Waller-Bridge talks about the journey from Fleabag to Indiana Jones, pausing only to greet birds and besotted fans.”

The Jerk Aficionados

Alan Siegel | The Ringer | August 8, 2023 | 2,378 words

“Playing a sleazy, blustering buffoon the audience loves takes skill—just ask Adam Scott, Ben Stiller, or Julia Louis-Dreyfus.”

Remembering the Rappers We Lost

Danyel Smith | The New York Times Magazine | August 8, 2023 | 4,548 words

“Biggie. Tupac. DMX. We pay tribute to 63 stars who died too young.”

The Ones We Sent Away

Jennifer Senior | The Atlantic | August 7, 2023 | 13,585 words

“It is extraordinary what we hide from ourselves—and even more extraordinary that we once hid her, my mother’s sister, and so many like her from everyone.”

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Essays and Features

Ron’s Place

A man’s death revealed his secret masterpiece—his rented home, illegally transformed into a classical villa. What happened next questions how we define art.
by Max Olesker

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Reading Lists

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Our year-end collection

All the top #longreads of 2022, selected by our editors, featured authors, and readers.

Read our picks