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This Old Dog
A testament to my sister, who likes to walk ahead.
Latest Picks
Degrees of Separation
“Israel’s new international college programs offer American students an escape from campus activism while training them as state cheerleaders.”
In Search of Banksy
“The British street artist’s identity has been debated, and closely guarded, for decades. A quest to solve the riddle took Reuters from a bombed-out Ukrainian village to London and downtown Manhattan—and uncovered much more than a name.”
Where Duolingo Falls Down: How I Learned to Speak Welsh With My Mother
“Once violently defended from extinction, Welsh is still a part of daily life. By learning my family’s language, I hoped to join their conversation.”
The Longreads Questionnaire, Featuring Neal Allen and Anne Lamott
The authors of the new book Good Writing share their insights on reading, writing, and their day-to-day life.
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Jeff Mills Loves to Forget
“How techno’s most vaunted architect is still building sonic futures.”
Latest Posts
The Afterlife of a Stolen Bike
“22 bikes a day are stolen in Melbourne. I decided to buy one to return it to its rightful owner.”
Beneath the Long White Cloud
“The search for the eighth wonder of the world.”
What 100 Million Volts Do to the Body and Mind
“The odds of being struck by lightning in America in a given year are one in 1.2 million. How does the experience reorient a person’s sense of chance, of fate?”
The Devil’s Crown
“The first time I try to visit the devil, I bring my son.”
You Could Be Next
“Laid-off lawyers, history PhDs, and scientists are now part of a miserable gig economy in which they’re teaching AI how to do their old jobs.”
How My Mother’s Dying Wish Took My Family to Antarctica
“What I thought was a burden was a tether across death’s divide.”
Best of Longreads
A collection of our favorite stories since 2011.
Competitive Scrabble Is A Lexical Shitshow
“JAKER entered the pantheon of Scrabble Words You’ll Never Forget Because Something Weird Happened.”
Gout
“What the disease taught me about language, inheritance and pain.”
The Weather-Changing Conspiracy Theory That Will Never End
“Why are some people convinced that nefarious experiments are happening in the distant Alaskan wilderness?”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Lost soul, copy that, missing beats, muzzled watchdogs, and a ramblin’ man.
Lost Recipes
“The Mind Squad and editorial staff like theirs—people who understood and loved the music—would create a new, vibrant, and deeply informed style of cultural journalism that defined an era.”
Sucker
“My year as a degenerate gambler.”
The Zombie Regulator
“As the cost of living continues to spiral upward, the Trump Administration is gutting the government agency built to protect Americans from financial ruin.”
Stay Classy
“Mummy loved Andrew, and what Mummy loved, Mummy protected.”
Into the Darkness
Germany’s Black Forest faces a future of transformation. So do the people who have lived there for centuries.
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