Zilong Wang cycled 3,400 miles west across America to San Francisco on his bike, the White Dragon Horse. At Bicycling, John Brant recounts Wang’s enlightening adventure: how he befriended kind strangers along the way, found an appreciation for life in his solitude, and lost — but later found — his bike at the end of the journey.
Cheri Lucas Rowlands
Cheri has been an editor at Longreads since 2014.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Zilong Wang and the Cosmic Tale of the White Dragon
“Zilong Wang’s journey seems more fable than narrative. With little previous experience on a bike, he pedaled into cycling’s heart. Raised on no religion, he somehow found America’s soul.” An account of Zilong Wang’s 3,400-mile bike ride and spiritual journey across America.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Netflix Wants the World to Binge-Watch
“The answer may reside in Brazil. It’s here, in the shadows of Globo, that Netflix has been creating, revising, and perfecting the first draft of its international playbook.” Over the past few years, the streaming service has grown to prominence in Brazil, setting the stage for expansion into more than 100 other countries.
Posted inProfiles & Interviews, Quote Posts, Quotes
Paul Auster: ‘I Feel Utterly Astonished That We Could Have Come to This’
In a candid interview at the Guardian, author Paul Auster — who turns 70 next month — discusses his breadth of work over the decades, American life and politics in the age of Trump, and his new novel, 4321, which he refers to as the biggest book of his life.
Posted inNonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘Then Again, Maybe They’re Just Birds’: One Farmer’s Bald-Eagle Problem
What happens when your chickens are killed by predators protected by law? At The New York Times Magazine, Wyatt Williams reports on the farming hardships posed by bald eagles and what one family farm in Bluffon, Georgia, is trying to do about it.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Paul Auster: ‘I’m Going to Speak Out as Often as I Can, Otherwise I Can’t Live with Myself’
The publication of 4321, Paul Auster’s new 900-page novel, coincides with the author’s seventieth birthday. In an interview at the Guardian, he talks about escaping death as a child, writing a story about the what-ifs that haunt us, and learning how to live his life in the years ahead under a Trump presidency.
Posted inEditor's Pick
When the National Bird Is a Burden
The bald eagle has long been a symbol of pride and freedom in the United States. But for one family farm in Georgia, it’s a real nuisance.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The True Story of the Fugitive Drug Smuggler Who Became an Environmental Hero
When Florida drug trafficker Raymond Stansel was busted in 1974, he disappeared, changed his identity, and escaped to the dense rainforest along the Daintree River in Far North Queensland, Australia. But instead of laying low, he started an ecological tour company and viable business, becoming invested in the environmental protection of the region.
Posted inNonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘Not Too Much, Not Too Little’: Programming Luck Into Video Games
At Nautilis, Simon Parkin examines the responsibilities and challenges of engineering luck into video games.
Posted inNonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘We Have a Lot of Firepower — and We Will Persevere’: California vs. Trump
In the first piece in a series at The California Sunday Magazine, Andy Kroll sets out to explore the relationship between California and Donald Trump’s Washington.