Jennifer Keishin Armstrong recalls Saddam Hussein, Silvio Berlusconi, Vladimir Putin, and Muammar Gaddafi as she explores the history of comedy as not only a relief valve but also as a formidable resistance tactic against oppressive regimes.
Editor’s Pick
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Writing Our America
“This is our America. It’s our America to write in, and our America to write.” Korb’s essay is adapted from a talk he presented at Pacific University’s MFA in Writing Program. It includes advice from writers of “YA fiction, writers for television and stage, of novels and essays, investigative journalism, and criticism” on how we […]
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Below Deck
Lizzie Presser reports on the Dickensian treatment of Filipino workers aboard Carnival Cruise Line ships — where the routine involves 12 and 14-hour days, seven-days a week for paltry pay and zero overtime — just to be able to provide better lives for families they rarely get to see.
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A Shot in the Arm
Why would a tenure-track professor find himself selling his plasma to make rent? A story about debt in the academic world.
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Against Willpower
It’s a concept that has shaped ethical debates for centuries. A clinical psychiatrist now thinks it’s time we got rid of it.
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The Jellyfish Are Coming: Brace Yourself for Goo-mageddon
Endless streams of jellyfish are taking a bite out of fish stocks, clogging water pipes, and scuppering seaside vacations. What to do: destroy them, control them, or just leave them be?
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The Joker: Nikola Jokic Gets Serious In Denver
Nikola Jokic has been in the NBA for just two seasons, but the Serbian center, who plays for the Denver Nuggets, has in that short time managed to completely revolutionize how the position (perhaps) should be played. Though Jokic stands 6-foot-10, he plays with a flash and style that seem suited for someone much smaller, […]
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What It’s Like to Lose Your Short-Term Memory
Longreads is proud to feature an exclusive excerpt from Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember: The Stroke That Changed My Life, the forthcoming memoir by Christine Hyung-Oak Lee. Lee’s story was first featured on Longreads in 2014, for her BuzzFeed essay, “I Had a Stroke at 33.”
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Trump Revives a Shameful Tradition: Targeting a Minority Group with Crime Reports
The president’s executive orders and inflammatory rhetoric follow a predictable path.
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Making Sense of Our Compulsions
Sharon Begley explores the behaviors we engage in to cope with unbearable anxiety.