More than a century before GoPro, Thomas Stevens’ around-the-world bike ride vaulted first-person “sports porn” into the mainstream.

Hope may seem to be in short supply these days, but these stories dare to chart a course toward something better.

Ten favorite Longreads originals, as selected by the editors.

“I’m amazed at our human capacity to adapt to the unbearable. Almost anything can seem normal if it’s inflicted on us long enough.”

Amorphous and intangible, a vibe is hard to describe. Let these five longreads sharpen your focus.

Why it’s important to give things a sniff.

Five longreads about the iconoclastic American writer, director, and activist.

In this excerpt from The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, host Brendan O’Meara talks to Kelly Loudenberg and Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby about their work on “The Caregivers.”

The couple who saved an imprisoned artist’s life — and the extraordinary gift he gave in return.

The source of glamour, sex, and transgression? Or a carefully crafted persona? A closer look at the Hollywood blonde.

Fandom gets at our most human urges: to share the things we love with others, to seek community among like-minded peers, especially at a time when we are all still too far apart.

“Sometimes, the mechanism of the answer is something ludicrously complex, a thing that must be pieced out bit by bit. Other times, the solution requires retooling your perspective.”

Why do we keep what we keep — and who decides? An archivist digs and collects longreads on how objects and materials shape public memory.

“There is no more urgent form of communication than going extinct.”

Eight stories to complicate your clichéd idea of Ireland.

Stories about wrongful convictions open our eyes to systemic injustices in the U.S. court system. Maurice Chammah, a staff writer at The Marshall Project, compiles his recommended longreads within the genre.

A family confronts its racial past along the Appalachian Trail.

Getting dressed isn’t a low-stakes activity.

Think it’s time to get off social media? Then this is the reading list for you.

I am of that bit of earth. So I will not let it go. I show up in the small ways I can, which is talking to people, which is why I tell this to you.

In this excerpt from The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, host Brendan O’Meara talks to Bill Donahue and Atavist editor Jonah Ogles about their work on “The Voyagers.”

Let’s go away for awhile and reflect on the genius of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys’ 1966 album “Pet Sounds.” Wouldn’t it be nice?