The Trump Whisperer: A Conversation with Washington Post Reporter David Fahrenthold By Cody Delistraty Feature Fahrenthold on how he follows the money, “shows his work,” and solicits leads from Twitter in covering Donald Trump.
Raising Brown Boys in Post-9/11 America By Sorayya Khan Feature Sorayya Khan recalls racist threats to her young sons after the 2001 attacks, and worries about them as young men living in ‘Trumpistan.’
The Whistleblower in the Family By Aaron Gilbreath Feature After her father was arrested for fraud, Pearl Abraham began the the slow, painful process of unraveling her Hasidic family ties.
Weighing Justice With a Jury of Her ‘Peers’ By Susana Morris Feature While serving as foreperson on a grand jury, Susana Morris confronts power and privilege in the criminal justice system.
I Was a 9-Year-Old Playboy Bunny By Shannon Kavanaugh Feature After longing to be a sex-symbol as a child, Shannon Lell grapples with a lifetime of self-objectification.
Atomic City By Justin Nobel Feature On January 3, 1961, a nuclear reactor the size of a small grain silo exploded in the Idaho desert, causing one of the only recorded nuclear fatalities on U.S. soil.
Disguised in Plain Clothes, but No Superman By Chris Wiewiora Feature After a shooting at Iowa State leaves him feeling inept at protecting his students, Chris Wiewiora becomes a campus bus driver instead.
On NYC’s Paratransit, Fighting for Safety, Respect, and Human Dignity By muteiny Feature An incident on lawyer Britney Wilson’s ride home from work exposes her vulnerabilities as a Black disabled woman.
American Sphinx By Colin Dickey Feature Civil War monuments in the North erased an emancipated Black population. But the Sphinx looked to a new world: an integrated Africa and America.
How the NBA Failed Royce White By Sam Riches Feature He was compared to basketball superstars like Charles Barkley and LeBron James. But without comprehensive mental health treatment, Royce White found himself fighting for a new cause.
America’s First Addiction Epidemic By Longreads Feature The alcohol epidemic devastated Native American communities, leading to crippling poverty, astonishingly high mortality rates — and a successful sobriety movement.
Reflections of an Accidental Florist By Aaron Gilbreath Feature When a painter stumbles into a floral career, she sees the ugly truth behind a colorful, fragrant industry.
Can Love Sparked at Burning Man Last in Everyday Life? By Maria Finn Feature Maria Finn tries to make sense of the euphoric love she experienced at the annual festival in Black Rock City, while she was grieving her brother’s suicide.
Wrapping the Sunday Paper For the Last Time By Andrew Bockhold Feature Andrew Bockhold finds a new appreciation for the family newspaper route he hated working as a kid, before it was shut down.
I Want to Persuade You to Care About Other People By Danielle Tcholakian Feature After changing her conservative grandfather’s mind about affirmative action, Danielle Tcholakian commits to trying to get through to people whose politics are very different from her own.
Here at the End of All Things By Adrian Daub Feature On losing oneself in the geography of fantasy worlds, from Middle Earth to Westeros.
Why Oil-Loving Louisiana Should Embrace America’s Coming Offshore Wind Boom By Justin Nobel Feature The budding wind power industry is rich in jobs, and the people of south Louisiana are ready for clean energy.
In a Swimming Pool, Learning to Trust By Matt Grant Feature A swimming instructor for ten years, Matt Grant learned the most from his most challenging student.
Pregnant, then Ruptured By Joanna Petrone Feature After an emergency operation, Joanna Petrone considers the medical advances and legal protections that allow women to survive ectopic pregnancies.
What Thomas Jefferson Taught Me About Charlottesville and America By Joshua Adams Feature University of Virginia grad Joshua Adams believes that if you want to understand the recent violence there, look back at history and the school’s complicated founder.
How a Journalist Uncovered the True Identity of Jihadi John By Longreads Feature Souad Mekhennet’s thrilling tale of late-night rendezvous, burner phones, and secret codes — and her quest to reveal the man in black.
You Are a Jigsaw Puzzle with Missing Food-Shaped Pieces By Lindsay Hunter Feature Fat, thin, over-eating, under-eating. Lindsay Hunter’s relationship with food, weight, and body image has been consistently complicated.
Forever Yesterday: Peering Inside My Mom’s Fading Mind By Kevin Sampsell Feature Kevin Sampsell bears witness to the ways in which Alzheimer’s has been pulling his mother back in time, and taking over her life.
In Foreign Territory, Wondering: Who is the Alpha Monkey? By leighshulman Feature Leigh Shulman learns the meaning of home and belonging when she volunteers at a monkey refuge with her nine-year-old daughter.
Hard Lessons in Living Off the Grid By Longreads Feature A family tried to build its own sustainable paradise in Hawaii. Then Tesla’s batteries came to town.
The Hippies Who Hated the Summer of Love By Longreads Feature The merchants of Haight-Ashbury advertised a summer of free food, free lodging, and free love. What they got instead was a civic nightmare.
Whose Fault Was Dunkirk? By Longreads Feature For years, historians have blamed King Leopold of Belgium. But did they fall for Allied propaganda?
The Brief Career and Self-Imposed Exile of Jutta Hipp, Jazz Pianist By Longreads Feature Europe’s “First Lady of Jazz” moved to New York in 1955, played for five more years, then disappeared — while royalty checks piled up with her record label.