The Longreads Blog

Transcript: The Julian Assange Interview

Transcript: The Julian Assange Interview

Out on the Ice

Out on the Ice

putthison:

The Economist: The Lounge Suit, Battle-Dress of the World’s Businessmen, is 150 Years Old – Possibly

This is a totally fascinating history of the suit from the 18th century to today.

Patrick Doyle: Top 5 Longreads from 2010

Patrick Doyle is a senior editor for 5280 Magazine in Denver. 

patrickcdoyle:

The good folks at Longreads.com have been asking everyone for their five favorite pieces from 2010. Here are mine.  

Roger Ebert: The Essential Man,” by Chris Jones, Esquire
The best story of the year. Just give Jones his Ellie now.

The End of Men,” by Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic
A compelling case for why I and my male brethren are, umm, goners.

The Quaid Conspiracy,” by Nancy Jo Sales, Vanity Fair
Reminiscent of VF’s Pat Dollard story from a few years back; Sales gets out of the way and watches—along with us—the Quaid trainwreck.

Village Voice,” by Peter Hessler, The New Yorker
Hessler follows Rajeev Goyal as he wades through D.C. and Nepalese politics and tries to make the Peace Corps relevant again. 

Believeland,” by Wright Thompson, ESPN.com
A heartbreaking, but hopeful piece about post-LeBron Cleveland. (Also: Who knew that Dennis Kucinich was such a hoops fan?) I still haven’t forgiven ESPN for “The Decision,” but this is a much-needed salve.

laphamsquarterly:

Barbara Newhall Follett, the child prodigy who began her first book The House Without Windows at the age of 8, and the subject of Paul Collins’ essay “Vanishing Act.” 

“My dreams are going through their death flurries. I thought they were all safely buried, but sometimes they stir in their grave, making my heartstrings twinge. I mean no particular dream, you understand, but the whole radiant flock of them together — with their rainbow wings, iridescent, bright, soaring, glorious, sublime. They are dying before the steel javelins and arrows of a world of Time and Money.”

Did you read this yet? 

Tumbl, and You Shall Find

markcoatney:


One of the big challenges on Tumblr right now is the problem of discovery: How can we come up with better ways to help Tumblr users find great new, interesting things outside of the circle of the people they follow? One step toward solving this is our new curated tag pages. Right now, with the help of several smart members of the Tumblr community, we’ve launched three pages that are designed to show off really compelling Tumblr posts in these areas: News, Fashion, and long-form journalism

News is a reflection of the excellent sensibilities and judgment of these four smart  Tumblr-ers (plus me; any bad choices in the mix are all mine); Long Reads is hosted and curated by these good folks, while Fashion is tastefully assembled by these elegant Tumblr users.

We’re still fine-tuning the process, and would love any feedback. Thanks!

Group Home's Unorthodox Sex Policy Disquiets Mother

Group Home’s Unorthodox Sex Policy Disquiets Mother

Mallary Tenore: My Top 5 Media Longreads of 2010

Mallary Tenore covers media news for the Poynter Institute’s Poynter.org.

***

Timothy Lavin: The Listener, The Atlantic, Jan/Feb 2010 

Refreshing to see well-written stories about lesser-known media phenomena like Coast to Coast AM.

James Verini: Lost Exile, Vanity Fair, Feb. 23, 2010 

Verini does a great job describing what the death of the paper (in this case, Russia’s English-language paper The Exile) means to the two men who started it and how this ties into the experience of loss. 

Richard Morgan: Seven Years as a Freelancer, or, How to Make Vitamin Soup, The AwlAug. 2, 2010

Using humor and honesty to show how unglamorous the life of a freelancer can be.

Laurie Hertzel: News Reporting in Duluth: Adventures of an Accidental Journalist, MinnPost, Aug. 26, 2010 

I’ve always loved stories about female journalists who aren’t afraid to advocate for gender equality in the newsroom, and I think this one is particularly good. I like the memories that Hertzel shares about working with Jacqui Banaszynski — arguably one of the most influential editors and coaches in the business. 

Frank Bruni: The Age of Laura Linney, The New York Times, July 28, 2010 

This story isn’t about the media, but I’m including it because it reminds me of the importance of being versatile as a journalist. Bruni has written about a wide variety of topics — Hollywood, politics, his struggles with weight,  etc. — and always does so in a way that makes me think he has studied that particular subject or source for years. 

Bargain Junkies Are Beating Retailers at Their Own Game

Bargain Junkies Are Beating Retailers at Their Own Game

The Social Network

The Social Network