ESSAY
This Old Dog
A testament to my sister, who likes to walk ahead.
Latest Picks
The Quiet Part Loud
“You could spend a lot of time with Seth and never know he struggles to hear; that his left ear hears at about 30 percent below the average range and his right one, 95 percent below.”
The Bitter Taste of ‘Not Too Sweet’
“Asian Americans have claimed the phrase ‘not too sweet’ as a defiant shorthand and a cheeky rallying cry. But is that maxim really true?”
Where Are All The Caribou?
“For millennia Indigenous communities have relied on the far north’s caribou herds for sustenance. But as the herds dwindle, the future becomes difficult to predict.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we’re showcasing stories from Mari Cohen, Brenna Ehrlich, Grace Glassman, Tad Friend, and Imogen West-Knights.
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Kickstart your weekend by getting the week’s best reads, hand-picked and introduced by Longreads editors, delivered to your inbox every Friday morning.
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‘How Do You Reduce a National Dish to a Powder?’: The Weird, Secretive World of Crisp Flavors
“Why can you buy lasagne flavour snacks in Thailand but not in Italy? Which country can cope with the hottest chili? And why do Germans like paprika so much?”
Latest Posts
The Many Garlics of My Childhood
“Combing through decades of meal memories, and New York’s diamond district, to find a long-lost garlic dish from childhood.”
Best of 2023: Reported Essays
The reported essays we can’t stop thinking about.
How to Build a Better Motivational Speaker
“The upstart motivator Jesse Itzler wants to reform his profession—while also rising to the top.”
Christmas on the Moon
Baby, it’s cold outside! Especially when you spend the holidays in a tent full of explosives.
When I Met the Pope
“Imagine an Irish Catholic bishop telling you that you have no chill.”
One Swedish Zoo, Seven Escaped Chimpanzees
“The great apes at Furuvik Zoo broke free from their enclosure last winter. This is the story of the most dramatic 72 hours of their lives.”
Best of Longreads
A collection of our favorite stories since 2011.
The Silence Is the Loudest Part of ‘Renaissance: A Film’
“More than anything, ‘Renaissance’ is a testament that Beyoncé is a brand that stands for absolutely nothing beyond its own greatness.”
Best of 2023: Personal Essays
Our favorite personal essays published this year include stories on loss, Indigenous community, video games, caring for aging relatives, and the fear of missing love.
A Mourner’s Thesaurus
“‘Chris is dead.’ Just like that, I was empty.”
After the Hit-and-Run
“Can restorative justice offer crash victims like me—and the drivers who harmed us—the healing we need?”
Song of the Scientist
“Mukherjee was fascinated with cells early on. But then he was interested in so many things.”
The G.O.A.T of Landscape Management? Goats.
“In cities across Texas, rugged ruminants are chowing down on the plants that plague us.”
Death of a (Really Good) Salesman
“He was a powerful executive at some of the best companies in the world. Then he started robbing banks.”
‘What Kind of Man Would Abandon His Family By Pretending To Be Dead?’
A father’s disappearance, dark family secrets, and the hunt for Bigfoot.
For Decades, a Florida Woman Had No Sense of Smell. Can She Get It Back?
“As the pandemic stole millions of people’s “fifth sense,” Barbara Walker’s seemed to be coming back. But why?”
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