Creepypasta, Shirley Jackson, and Horror Podcasts: A Halloween Reading Guide
The spookiness doesn’t have to end with the weekend—indulge in classic creepypasta, scary podcasts, and Ms. (Shirley) Jackson on your lunch break.
What I Learned About Terrorism by Talking With My Father’s Kidnapper
The daughter of Terry Anderson—the Associated Press bureau chief held hostage and tortured in Lebanon for seven years from 1985 to 1991—interviews her father’s kidnapper, and gains insight into what makes Islamic terrorists tick.
The Trick to It All: A Conversation with Photographer Henry Leutwyler
Henry Leutwyler on portraiture and the magic of inanimate objects.
Salt, Sugar, Fat, Repeat: A Reading List on Restaurant Chains
Here are some of our favorite reads on America’s restaurant chains, from the generically upscale to the proudly down-home. They cover politics, economics, regional identity, and even (surprise!) food.
Excerpt: ‘The Red Car’ by Marcy Dermansky
“The car had upset me. Judy had found a parking space right in front of the restaurant and I could see the red car from our table. Taunting me.”
The Way We Walk: A Reading List
In the following essays, Antonia Malachik discusses the cultural implications of our aversion to walking; Garnette Cadogan relates how his walks are coded by his skin color, depending on where in the world he is; Adee Braun praises the New York eat-and-walk, and more.
The Love of a Thousand Muskoxen: Grieving a Love Lost to Time and Sickness
Years after spending a romantic month alone with a young photographer, Stephanie Land learns of his crippling chronic disease–and gets a glimpse of how much she meant to him.
Present-Day Witchcraft: Seven Stories About Witches
Seven stories about the modern rituals of witchcraft and how they inform our past.
America’s HGTV Obsession: A Reading List
HGTV knows the formula for successful programming. Here are six reads that explore why the popular home improvement network can dish out exactly what its audience wants.
Birth—and Rebirth—after Bulimia
In pregnancy, writer Judy Tsuei found herself confronting the eating disorder she’d recovered from and her Chinese-American upbringing—and in the process, rebirthing herself as the kind of mother her daughter would need her to be.