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The founding editor of the New York Review of Books looks back on 50 years: Danner: “I’m holding here the first issue, which declares, in a statement on the second page: ‘This issue … does not pretend to cover all the books of the season or even all the important ones. Neither time nor space, […]

A profile of California Gov. Jerry Brown, who just turned 75 and is ready to address the state’s problems: “Unemployment in California is still higher than the national average and the state has billions of dollars of unfunded pension liabilities. He says there are some public workers in the state who can retire at 50 […]

How does a would-be blockbuster become a disastrous flop? A look at the decisions, large and small, that doomed Super Mario Bros. in the early 1990s: “You can learn a lot about the way the movie industry works in a given moment by looking at its successes (whether accidental or engineered), but often you can […]

The voice actors behind billion-dollar games are paid hourly rates, and have seen video game voice acting budgets eaten up by Hollywood stars: “‘With very few exceptions, allocating a major portion of a budget to a big name is a magnificently terrible waste of money,’ Blum says. ‘A name on a game is something executives […]

[Fiction] A previously unpublished sci-fi story by the writer and film critic, who died on April 4 at age 70: “‘This is a vague idea,’ said Regan. ‘I’m still working on it. Titan evolves molecules that group in such a way that they, oh, get together, like, and don’t actually communicate, like, but prowl around […]

The fading spotlight of one of the biggest icons in boxing history: “If King wants to reflect on the past during this, the evening of his career, he only has to look around his offices at Don King Productions, where he has surrounded himself not only with memorabilia, but also with the same people who […]

How financial and personal pressure took a toll on an entrepreneur: “Before the fundraising, Sherman would push himself and others to raise as much money as possible for their businesses. After the financing closed, he began referring to venture capital as a ‘fraud’ and a ‘sham.’ “Employees could tell something was off when Sherman announced […]

We have some big news to share today: Longreads is teaming up with The Atlantic, in a partnership that will allow us to expand our site and membership model—and continue to serve this community of readers, writers and publishers. Read more about our plans together, as well as details about our community membership and advertising […]

A story adapted from The Fight to Save Juarez, which presents a range of viewpoints in Mexico’s drug war. Here, the viewpoint is from a drug trafficker’s mistress: “Hernán and Elena lived lives of combustible desperation within the middle rungs of the Juárez cartel. Elena’s restless instincts and combative nature played off of Hernán’s macho […]

A collection of stories by and about the writer and film critic, who has died at age 70.