My Brother’s Secret

“I was the only one in the family who knew his secret.” Author W.K. Stratton on his brother, Dale, who died of complications from AIDS at the age of 38.

Source: Texas Monthly
Published: Jan 29, 2015
Length: 19 minutes (4,893 words)

White Plastic Chairs Are Taking Over the World

A look at the design of mass-produced white plastic chairs, and what their ubiquity says about the globalization of culture.

Source: Vice Magazine
Published: Jan 28, 2015
Length: 6 minutes (1,550 words)

The Last Days of Football

According to n+1, almost nothing is watched by everybody, but the thing that comes closest is the NFL. So why does the league have so many problems?

Source: n+1
Published: Jan 29, 2015
Length: 17 minutes (4,250 words)

The Definition of a Dictionary

In a two-story brick building in Springfield, Massachusetts, a team of definers, etymologists, pronouncers, daters, typists and lexicographers are hard at work on the long-awaited fourth edition of America’s premier dictionary. But perhaps their most important definition is still in the works: what should an online dictionary look like?

Source: Slate
Published: Jan 12, 2015
Length: 44 minutes (11,174 words)

The Fire on the 57 Bus in Oakland

Sasha Fleischman—who identifies as agender, neither male nor female—was set on fire by a fellow teenager while riding a city bus home from school. With the flick of a lighter, two families lives were changed forever.

Published: Jan 29, 2015
Length: 27 minutes (6,973 words)

Rush After ‘A Rape On Campus’: A UVA Alum Goes Back to Rugby Road

Jia, an alumnus of UVA, visits the campus during rush week after the Rolling Stone rape story controversy.

Source: Jezebel
Published: Jan 28, 2015
Length: 31 minutes (7,762 words)

Chasing Abbey

Doug Peacock reflects on the life of his friend and fellow author and environmentalist Edward Abbey from a trail high in the Himalayas.

Source: Outside
Published: May 2, 2004
Length: 21 minutes (5,250 words)

We Extend Our Condolences

According to the cruel logic of the state Crime Victims Compensation Board, victims in Oklahoma can be deemed responsible for their own murder, making their families ineligible for victims compensation benefits.

Source: This Land Press
Published: Jan 20, 2015
Length: 14 minutes (3,600 words)

Long Live Grim Fandango

The inside story of how a beloved videogame sprang back to life. A Longreads Exclusive from Kill Screen.

Author: Jon Irwin
Source: Kill Screen
Published: Jan 29, 2015
Length: 17 minutes (4,253 words)

The Rewards of a Literary Marriage

A profile of the writers Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne from the New York Times magazine, circa 1987.

Published: Feb 8, 1987
Length: 25 minutes (6,450 words)