Longreads

We become better in many ways, but it’s the best writers who give us the information and context required to do so, and let us do the work to get there.

It’s a small miracle, I think, to experience a shift in perspective toward empathy. Being intentional about it is a small risk, a small assignment if you will, with the potential for a modest but meaningful personal reward.

An exploration of scale, limits, and care—featuring our new essay “By All Measures” and this week’s Top 5 reads.

“I want to be left alone, but I don’t want to be lonely.” Hanif Abdurraqib writes this about a tension that dominated the career of singer Phyllis Hyman—but it also feels like a familiar plea in this dim, early-January week, when many of us leave the chaos of extended family and drift back into our own homes, our own jobs, and perhaps our own small pockets of solitude.

For many of us, the weeks ahead offer a little more time and space for reading. Our year-end lists are filled with stories that will meet you wherever you are.