“Anatomy of a credibility crisis.”
Brendan Fitzgerald
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Man Who Held His Breath for 24 Minutes
“After his daughter’s diagnosis, Budimir Šobat gave up drinking and devoted himself to her care. Years later, he found a new obsession: holding his breath longer than anyone in history.”
Posted inNewsletter
What Stories Offer, and What They Ask in Return
“Some thoughts demand to be pursued to their limits. We work with writers to help them go the distance, to satisfy their curiosity and yours.” The greatest appeal of Longreads is obvious; it’s right there in the name. But it’s worth considering, for a moment, what length enables in a story, and what those stories […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
I Tried to Toughen Up My Son. Things Didn’t Go as Planned.
“A trip to the Badlands with my 8-year old offered lessons in boyhood — and manhood.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Second and Long
“Why did James Whitehead—poet, fiction writer, and onetime college football player—fail to complete a successor to his celebrated first novel?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
You Have No Idea How Hard It Is to Be a Reenactor
“Benedict Arnold’s boot wouldn’t come off, and other hardships from my weekend in the Revolutionary War.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
No School, No Fresh Air and Isolated
“Children incarcerated in Shelby County’s juvenile detention center are frequently held in solitary confinement, according to more than two dozen sources who spoke with MLK50.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
When Dementia Steals the Imagination of a Children’s Book Writer
“Robert Munsch wrote ‘The Paper Bag Princess,’ ‘Love You Forever’ and other classics by performing them over and over for kids. But his stories are slipping away.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘Sinister Industry’: Kansas City Company Behind 7-OH & a Growing Opioid Epidemic
“Because it exists in a gray zone of commerce, the true size of the 7-OH trade is tough to pin down. Estimates range from $2 billion to $8 billion. But one fact is clear: A surprising amount of it runs through Kansas City.”