To understand this sprawling desert city, you have to understand its canals, whose routes Indigenous people dug as far back as A.D. 200.
Nonfiction
All Mom’s Friends
Svetlana Kitto recalls her 1980s childhood in Hollywood during the early years of the AIDS crisis.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Wendy C. Ortiz, Mary South, Jeremiah Moss, Nora Caplan-Bricker, and Samanth Subramanian.
Be a Good Sport
Competitive sports can mean professional and financial success — if they don’t compromise your mental health first. ‘Cheer’ and ‘Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez’ show how athletics can hurt as much as they can heal.
Remembering the Things That Remain
A Polish artist invites a journalist to dig into disturbing remnants from the Holocaust that Poland would rather keep buried.
Can Japan Break Its Addiction to Disposable Packaging?
One of the most technologically advanced countries in the world pays a high ecological price for its many culinary conveniences.
At Mrs. Balbir’s
Jillian Dunham traveled thousands of miles from home to get away from her grief. It found her anyway, in a stranger’s Bangkok apartment.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Michael Barajas, Evan Ratliff, Andrew Mckirdy, Raffi Khatchadourian, and Agnes Callard.
The Early Years of Elif Batuman’s Interest in Russian Authors
How a college student’s scholarly investigation into whether Tolstoy was murdered led to her first book, about the people obsessed with Russian literature.
Inking Against Invisibility
In the face of chronic pain, invisible illness, and medical discrimination, Talia Hibbert turned to tatoos to reclaim ownership of her body.
