“How other people live is pretty much all I think about. Curiosity is the rock upon which fiction is built.”
Krista Stevens
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Rise and Fall of a Fracking Boom Town: An Oral History
“Rock Springs, Wyoming, sits on vast underground stores of natural gas and shale oil. But what was meant to be a blessing turned into a curse.”
Posted inHighlight, investigations, Quote Posts, Quotes
The Racist Healthcare System that Failed JaMarcus Crews
“Donated kidneys are a precious, limited resource, and once again, Black Americans are at a disadvantage.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
E Pluribus Country
“Politics flattens, but the best country music invites us into people’s complex and contradictory lives.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Weight of the World
“2021 kicks off the United Nations Decade on Ocean Science. Meanwhile, a local conservation group in Watamu, Kenya races to save endangered sea turtles—by enlisting human allies.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Fruit Flies Are Essential to Science. So Are the Workers Who Keep Them Alive.
“Sustaining the world’s biggest Drosophila collection during the pandemic has been a challenge, but the people in Indiana who supply the insects to labs around the world stay dedicated to the task.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Culture, Essays & Criticism, Highlight, History, Profiles & Interviews, Quote Posts, Quotes
‘Hue’s Hue’: Katy Kelleher’s Column on Color
“Tyrian purple was a difficult color to manufacture. Thousands of snails were required to create a single ounce of dye.”
Posted inStory
Longreads Best of 2020: Profiles
Here’s a selection of profiles that resonated with us this year.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Tethered to the Machine
“For years, JaMarcus Crews tried to get a new kidney, but corporate healthcare stood in the way. He needed dialysis to stay alive. He couldn’t miss a session, not even during a pandemic.”