Does hypnosis really work? For BBC Future, Martha Henriques falls down a rabbit hole and explores hypnosis as a treatment for pain, anxiety, PTSD, and other conditions. For many people, it’s a regular occurrence to get lost in a good book, or become so absorbed in a film (perhaps even a Harry Potter film) it […]
Cheri Lucas Rowlands
Cheri has been an editor at Longreads since 2014.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Joan Didion’s Magic Trick
Caitlin Flanagan goes on a road trip through California — including Sacramento, Berkeley, and Malibu — visiting the homes of the late Joan Didion and exploring why her writing has had such a powerful effect on people. Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album created a new vocabulary of essay writing, one whose influence is […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Dislodged
In this beautiful personal essay, Josh McColough recounts a road trip with his daughter along the coast of California and makes poignant observations about humanity and our vulnerable environment. Still, we too often move through life not considering our size and stature relative to forces and objects that humble us. Geologic time. Plate tectonics. A […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Man Who Controls Computers With His Mind
After an accident in 2006, Dennis DeGray became paralyzed from the collarbones down. Eager to participate in experimental research in the area of brain-computer interfaces, DeGray has electrode arrays embedded in his cortex, and is one of a few dozen people in the world who can control various forms of technology with his thoughts. If […]
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DeafBlind Communities May Be Creating a New Language of Touch
Andrew Leland’s fascinating piece in The New Yorker explores Protactile, a system of tactile communication that has evolved into a national movement for autonomy among DeafBlind people across the U.S. Still, several linguists have come to believe that, among some of its frequent users, Protactile is developing into its own language, with words and grammatical […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
I’ve Always Struggled With My Weight. Losing It Didn’t Mean Winning.
“A diet app helped me shed my extra Covid pounds — and reminded me that I’m still the same old me.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Breakfast with the Panthers
The Black Panther Party was founded in Oakland in 1966 as a way to address police brutality throughout the city, but its work expanded beyond the streets. In its early years, the Panthers did a lot of work in the community, with many women in leadership roles. At one point, writes Suzanne Cope, the author […]
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How Ben Got His Penis
Phalloplasty, or the surgery to construct a penis, has grown increasingly popular among transgender men — but it’s medically complicated. Jamie Lauren Keiles takes a closer look at the procedure while following the transition of Benjamin Simpson. As Ben prepared for Stage 1 surgery, he told only his family and close friends. He knew that acceptance […]
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The Korean Immigrant and Michigan Farm Boy Who Taught Americans How to Cook Chow Mein
In 1922, two college classmates in Detroit — a Korean immigrant named Ilhan New and an American named Wally Smith — founded La Choy, a company that mass-produced Chinese food products. One hundred years later, to Chinese Americans the brand is “synonymous with cultural inauthenticity, even appropriation.” But, as Cathy Erway explores for Taste, the […]