Of Blackness and ‘Beauty’ By Morgan Jerkins Feature At an art exhibit exploring black models through Western art, Morgan Jerkins finds historical evidence of the white supremacist definitions of beauty Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom identifies in ‘Thick: and Other Essays.’
At Risk, at Home and Abroad By Joy Notoma Feature As Joy Notoma grapples with uterine fibroids, harmful biases in the medical establishment, and a move from Brooklyn to West Africa she wonders where, as a black woman, she can find safety.
Blackstars By Michael Gonzales Feature Michael Gonzales reflects on the deaths of a dear friend, and a bookworm he idolized: David Bowie.
In My Own Voice, Redefining Success and Failure By Lauren DePino Feature Lauren DePino looks back at her ambitions as a singer, and re-evaluates the rejections she once allowed to define her.
Cowards and Accomplices By Judith Hertog Feature In light of her own family’s experience during the Holocaust, Judith Hertog considers her ethical responsibilities in today’s world.
The 25 Most Popular Longreads Exclusives of 2018 By Longreads Reading List The original reporting, personal essays, columns, and collaborations that were our most-read stories of the year.
A Woman’s Work: The Outside Story By Carolita Johnson Feature Carolita Johnson catalogues her efforts to maintain her appearance from about 1970 to 2018.
Swipe White By Jennifer Chong Schneider Feature Jennifer Chong Schneider considers what it is to be Asian, maligned, and fetishized in dating — and questions her own desire when she dates someone of her own ethnicity for the first time.
Where Have All the Music Magazines Gone? By Aaron Gilbreath Feature Inside music journalism post-2008 recession, and how media consumption in the 21st century offers a road map for the continuation of the once-robust medium.
A Portrait of the Mother as a Young Girl By Marlene Adelstein Feature Marlene Adelstein finds herself transported back in time and consciousness via an inherited painting.
Take Script, Add Snow By Jane Borden Feature The psychology behind America’s obsession with Hallmark Christmas movies.
Jack, Jacqueline — Dad By Yvonne Conza Feature Yvonne Conza wrestles with the complexities of estrangement from her dying — complicated — dad.
Reckoning With Georgia’s Increasing Suppression of Asian American Voters By Anjali Enjeti Feature As AAPI’s become a more powerful, Democrat-leaning voting bloc, efforts to keep them from the polls intensify.
The Portrait of the Artist as a Criminal By Krista Stevens Highlight Max Harris didn’t cause the warehouse fire in which 36 people died, yet he’s being held responsible for it.
As Beauty Does By Chaya Bhuvaneswar Feature Chaya Bhuvaneswar contemplates the powerful evolution of a woman’s beauty over time.
My Brother, My Self By Katie Prout Feature Katie Prout tries to untangle the story of her brother’s complicated, life-long battle with alcoholism against the backdrop of her family’s history of addiction.
Longreads Best of 2018: Crime Reporting By Longreads Commentary We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in crime reporting.
Longreads Best of 2018: Essays By Longreads Reading List We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in essays.
Queens of Infamy: Zenobia By Anne Thériault Feature In third-century Syria, a widowed monarch dared to be wildly ambitious — and almost brought the Roman Empire to its knees.
Duet for a Small Porpoise’s Extinction By Kimi Eisele Feature Kimi Eisele contemplates coherence, the near extinction of the vaquita, and the expensive bycatch of being human.
The Neanderthal By Jen Gilman Porat Feature Jen Gilman Porat seeks a genetic excuse for her husband’s barbaric table manners.
Selling Vintage Records in Tokyo By Aaron Gilbreath Feature Listening to music with a Tokyo record store owner forges a deeper bond than any shared language.
Writing to Avoid Erasure By Aram Mrjoian Feature After finding a note left by his grandfather, Aram Mrjoian considers how writing about the Armenian diaspora could help prevent history from being forgotten.
‘Emerging’ as a Writer — After 40 By Jenny Bhatt Feature Jenny Bhatt recalls the rites of passage that led to her shift in identity from corporate executive to woman writer of color.
Alexa de Paris By Miles Marshall Lewis Feature Miles Marshall Lewis remembers a love of Prince and Paris.
Who Really Gets to Make the Rules? By Krista Stevens Highlight “But who gets to impose those rules and who becomes subject to them can be decisions tainted with sexism and racism and transphobia and homophobia. “
Eating to America By Naz Riahi Feature When Naz Riahi was 9, she escaped tragedy in Iran only to be confronted by a cruel new world in America. Food became her solace and her tool for assimilating.
