Why is California burning? “We dug ourselves into a deep, dangerous fuel imbalance due to one simple fact. We live in a Mediterranean climate that’s designed to burn, and we’ve prevented it from burning anywhere close to enough for well over a hundred years.
Cheri Lucas Rowlands
Cheri has been an editor at Longreads since 2014.
Posted inHighlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts
The Seattle Police Shooting of Native Woodcarver John T. Williams, 10 Years Later
“I don’t think you can talk about police accountability in our region without also talking about the murder of John T. Williams.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The “Flying Feminist” Who Was the First Woman to Design, Build, and Fly Her Own Plane
“Lilian Bland was the first woman in the world to design, build, and fly her own plane — before Amelia Earhart had even become a teenager. So why don’t more people know her name?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Shooting of John T. Williams, 10 Years Later
“A decade ago, Seattle police officer Ian Birk shot and killed a well-known Native woodcarver in the community — because he carried a pocketknife. Today, his older brother Rick Williams reflects on his unjust death.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Where Will Everyone Go?
As temperatures and sea levels rise, populations flee from regions that are no longer livable, and the United States and other nations choose to build walls and keep migrants out, where will the world’s climate refugees go?
Posted inCurrent Events, Highlight, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘I Mostly Feel Like My Voice Matters’: A Portland Journalist on Protests, Police Violence, and Enduring Trauma
A reporter covering the protests in Portland reflects on fear and trauma, police violence, and her voice as a journalist.
Posted inHighlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘Their Bodies Are Not Considered Their Own’: White Privilege in the Emergency Room
It’s against the law to examine someone without their consent — but one ER doctor’s colleagues do it anyway.
Posted inEditor's Pick
I Know How to Cover a Portland Protest. So Why Am I Shaking?
Journalist Karina Brown, who’s covering the protests in Portland, writes a personal essay on trauma, sexual assault, and police violence.
Posted inCurrent Events, Highlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘Who’s Going to Take Care of Me?’: When the Coronavirus Takes Both Parents
In the wake of their parents’ deaths, three siblings struggle to get through the day-to-day.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Police Tried to Make Me Medically Examine a Man Against His Will
On racism in medicine, body autonomy, and one Black doctor’s experience in the ER.