Recent editors’ picks

The Death of a Superman

Paul Collins | The Believer | March 25, 2026 | 4,501 words

“An entirely avoidable problem is killing dozens of homeless people across the country. Why is it being ignored?”

What Happens When You Don’t Die on Time?

Bruce Deachman | National Post | March 12, 2026 | 2,085 words

“Hélène Campbell was supposed to be long dead by now. She emptied her bucket list, bank account—and, at 34, is left to wonder: ‘What next?’ And she’s not alone.”

Is There Life After Smartphones?

Matthew Shaer | The New York Times Magazine | March 31, 2026 | 4,762 words

“This year, I set out to better understand what was driving this shift — what was causing so many young people to feel fed up with their phones.”

Opposing ICE Might Save the Country. It Could Also Ruin Your Life.

Brendan I. Koerner | Wired | March 31, 2026 | 4,456 words

“For months, lone vibe coder Rafael Concepcion has obsessively built tools to counter the federal immigration crackdown—pivoting as he’s been outmatched. He’s also lost his job and become a target.”

Gillian Welch: This Land is Her Land

Jewly Hight | The Bitter Southerner | April 1, 2026 | 4,801 words

“You don’t need to shout it for the entire world, but you need to give hope to the people who need it, who you can speak to.”

The California Novel No One Can Find

Geoffrey Gray | Alta Journal | March 22, 2026 | 4,634 words

“Collectors have been tracking an 1854 outlaw tale from gold rush San Francisco to the alleys of Mexico City—and beyond. We join the hunt.”

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Highlighting excellent stories by Charles Bethea, Mahmoud Mushtaha, Geoffrey Gray, Luke Ottenhof, and Matthew Shaer.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Megan O’Grady, Alexander Sammon, Alaina Demopoulos, Blair Braverman, and Jack Crosbie.

Recent editors’ picks

Beyond a ‘Reasonable Doubt’

Hanif Abdurraqib | GQ | March 31, 2026 | 5,137 words

“Revisiting Jay-Z’s hustler masterpiece—released on his own label at age 25—in the rapper’s billionaire era.”

Reversing Extinction

Sadiah Qureshi | Aeon | March 12, 2026 | 3,186 words

“Technologies of preserving and reviving organisms are already redefining the meaning of life, death, and extinction itself.”

Masking My Autism Made Me Sick

Sarah Jane Cody | Electric Literature| March 5, 2026 | 3,976 words

“The rules dictated that I hide not only my sensitivity but my essential being in the world.”

The Bottom of the Ninth

Elizabeth D. Samet | The American Scholar | March 26, 2026| 5,833 words

“In baseball and in life, there is a cost to our pursuit of an error-free existence.”

‘The Worst Neighbor Ever’

Alexander Sammon | Slate | March 25, 2026 | 8,079 words

“He moved to the block promising a new bookstore. He brought a whole lot more than that. Now no one is quite sure how to describe what happened outside Quirky Books.”

How American Camouflage Conquered the World

Avery Trufelman | Wired | March 25, 2026 | 1,797 words

“The world-famous MultiCam pattern was designed for the military by two Brooklyn hipsters. Now everyone—from babies to ICE agents—is suited up for battle.”

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