Mr. Rogers vs. the Superheroes By Longreads Feature One of the few things that could raise anger — real, intense anger — in Mister Rogers was the willful misleading of children. Superheroes, he thought, were the worst culprits.
Shelved: The Velvet Underground’s Fourth Album By Tom Maxwell Feature The story of the Velvet Underground’s fourth album that almost never was.
Did We Learn From Anita Hill? By Danielle Tcholakian Commentary Or will Democrats sell out Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, too?
We’re Not Ready for Mars By Justin Nobel Feature Elon Musk can’t wait to send humans to the Moon and Mars. But before we land ourselves on other worlds, we need to remember how we’ve treated our own.
No, I Will Not Debate You By Laurie Penny Feature Civility will never defeat fascism, no matter what The Economist thinks.
An Interview with Sarah Smarsh, Author of ‘Heartland’ By Angela Chen Feature The author of “Heartland,” a National Book Award longlisted memoir about growing up poor in rural America, gives her views on politics, identity, and cultural appropriation.
Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth By Longreads Feature “There’s an idea that laborers end up in their role because it’s all they’re suited for. What put us there, though, was birth, family history — not lack of talent for something else.”
This Month in Books: ‘Everything That We Are and Ever Have Been’ By Dana Snitzky Commentary This month’s books newsletter has a lot to say about identities — mistaken, misunderstood, transformed, false, false, fictional, or as anonymous as the op-ed.
Naomi Osaka Deserves to Have Her Moment By Mike Dang Commentary Much is being written about the contentious U.S. Open women’s final match, but this moment belongs to Naomi Osaka.
Michael, Aretha, Beyoncé, and the Black Press By Danielle Jackson Commentary The Black press has always been where Black artists could have their work spoken about with integrity.
This Month In Books: ‘Name the Very Specific Situation Around You’ By Dana Snitzky Commentary This month’s books newsletter has a lot to say about truth and lies, fact and fiction.
Happy, Healthy Economy By Livia Gershon Feature Growth is only worth something if it makes people feel good.
One Dollar a Word? That’ll Be $28,000 By Matt Giles Commentary Fresh off Watergate, Carl Bernstein next turned to expose the connection between the CIA and newspapers. For his efforts, he was paid $28,000. Inside one of publishing’s biggest boondoggles.
The Far Right’s Fight Against Race-Conscious School Admissions By Danielle Jackson Commentary Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department rescinded Obama-era policy documents that provided guidelines on affirmative action.
An Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reading List By Danielle Tcholakian Reading List The New York Times came under fire for asking, “Who is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?” A lot of outlets already knew.
This Month in Books: ‘What Used To Be Me Before the World Buried It’ By Dana Snitzky Commentary Everyone is feeling very alone in this month’s books newsletter.
People Sorting: An Interview With ‘Personality Brokers’ Author Merve Emre By Jessica Gross Feature Merve Emre on the history of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
A Song for the River By Philip Connors Feature In the mountains of southwestern New Mexico, a seasoned fire lookout watches as his beloved forest and his personal life burn, and he tries to imagine what will arise from their ashes.
Ten Translations of Care By Mary Wang Feature Mary Wang recalls the ways in which she and her family in China conspired to hide her grandmother’s cancer diagnosis from her.
The Dead End on My Record Shelf By Longreads Feature I believed that there was no music existing in the world with an unbroken connection to its original context. I was wrong.
The Miracle of the Mundane By Longreads Feature In an excerpt from her new essay collection, Heather Havrilesky calls for tuning out the online cacophony telling us we aren’t enough, and tuning in to the soul-affirming, quiet truth of the present moment.
Putting a New Stone on the Grave: Sjón Brings the Golem to Iceland By Adam Morgan Feature Sjón’s “CoDex 1962” is the fulfillment of a pact he made with the Maharal of Prague in the Old Jewish Cemetery almost three decades ago.
Mega-drought and Me By Zoe Fenson Feature As California gets drier, a woman entering her 30s reflects on PCOS, pregnancy, and her desire to have children.
A Trip to Tolstoy Farm By Jordan Michael Smith Feature Even if one of the last surviving Tolstoyan communes has fallen short of Leo Tolstoy’s ideals, it’s still turned into something meaningful. It’s a place for people who don’t want to be found.
An Immoderate Novel for an Immoderate Season: An Interview with Olivia Laing By Bridey Heing Feature Olivia Laing’s new novel, “Crudo,” is a fictionalized account of the summer of 2017, written in real time by Laing — from the perspective of Kathy Acker.
Weighing the Costs — and Occasional Benefits — of Ethnic Ambiguity By Aram Mrjoian Feature Aram Mrjoian reflects on his experiences of being part Armenian in America.
J.R.’s Jook and the Authenticity Mirage By Longreads Feature When a young white musician gets invited to a house-party, the musicians he plays with show him a slice of blues culture many people assumed had died.
The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Perfume By Katy Kelleher Feature Sometimes it takes a touch of darkness to create something alluring.
Sabrina By Longreads Feature A video of a missing woman being murdered has surfaced on the internet, confirming the worst. Her boyfriend, lying low at a friend’s house, stumbles upon a radio program whose enigmatic host says she’s still alive.
To Post, or Not to Post? By Eloghosa Osunde Feature Eloghosa Osunde contemplates the role of marginalized artists in online activism.
Stripped: The Search for Human Rights in US Women’s Prisons By Adam Skolnick Feature The US prison system is broken. It sucks up billions of dollars each year and destroys lives. Could a Thai princess and an accidental criminal justice reform activist in the Pacific Northwest have the answers?
Above It All: How the Court Got So Supreme By Longreads Feature Secrecy and speechifying, collegiality and hierarchy, exceptionalism and opulence on the Supreme Court.
Having the Wrong Conversations about Hate Activity By Longreads Feature How a terrified mother tried — and failed — to be a walking-talking public service announcement.
A Long, Lasting Influence on Educational Equity By Anna Katherine Clemmons Feature As the Philadelphia Eagles start the 2018-19 NFL season, defensive end Chris Long is also committed to making wins off the field by creating educational equity for students in the United States.
Not Quite Democracy: Lucie Greene on the Civic Aspirations of Tech Giants By Bradley Babendir Feature Lucie Greene’s new book “Silicon States” is about the danger of concentrating so much power in so few hands.
Vanishing Twins By Leah Dieterich Feature After years of bonding closely with other people, one woman finally goes searching for herself.
Army of Me By Longreads Feature A woman who doesn’t feel like going to work today stays in bed and looks at the internet instead. She finds a blog by a fed-up call center employee who complains about the customers.
Or will Democrats sell out Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser, too?