The ‘Shaman’: A Committed Solo Traveler Struggles to Reconcile Being Raped While Abroad

As an avid solo traveler—and proponent of the empowerment traveling alone can offer women—Laura Yan has been conflicted about revealing she was raped in Bolivia.

Author: Laura Yan
Source: Longreads
Published: Jul 14, 2016
Length: 12 minutes (3,035 words)

Red, White, and Bruised

When Donald Trump and the GOP Convention arrive in Cleveland, they will find a city with a long history of violent outbursts, racial tension—and brushes with fascism. In short, the perfect stage for the 2016 presidential campaign. Kyle Swenson explores the history of his hometown.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jul 13, 2016
Length: 13 minutes (3,440 words)

Why I Hate My Dog

In this lighthearted portrait of his family’s rescue dog, author Richard Gilbert explores the larger bond between human and animal.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jul 5, 2016
Length: 18 minutes (4,584 words)

A Reading List for the Fourth of July

In between bites of hot dog and sunscreen applications, you can read about police brutality, what the rest of the world thinks about the United States, one woman’s American wardrobe and so much more. Happy Independence Day, America!

Source: Longreads
Published: Jul 3, 2016

Celebrating Pride: The Work We Have To Do

You will read about the queer and trans people in the American prison system. You will learn about their relationships, their mistreatment and some of their needs. You will read about the exclusive language of sex education and healthcare, particularly menstruation. You’ll read the stories of contemporary playwrights, musicians, political commentators and others as they reminisce about their first gay clubs. You’ll see that queer communal spaces can be inefficacious, yet remain so, so important.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 26, 2016

Day Care (and Its Discontents): A Reading List

Child care is a minefield of a topic, and navigating it inevitably detonates questions of class and gender, labor and social justice. It’s where politics and geography become not just personal, but also emotional (and, sometimes, heartbreaking). Here are eight stories about day care: a place working parents know all too well, but never quite well enough.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 22, 2016

The Man Who Put Down Clay

How do you get to know a father—or a man—who defines himself by one single, insurmountable achievement?

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 20, 2016
Length: 17 minutes (4,365 words)

Celebrating Pride: Where Religion and Queerness Meet

During Pride Month, Emily Perper will be sharing stories from the LGBTQ community. This reading list is about the experiences of queer people of faith.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 19, 2016

The Invisible Forces Behind All of Our Decision-Making

Author Jonah Berger explains when and why we follow the herd.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 16, 2016
Length: 16 minutes (4,137 words)

Borges and $: The Parable of the Literary Master and the Coin

Thirty years ago, the world lost a great literary mind—the Argentine writer and poet Jorge Luis Borges. Elizabeth Hyde Stevens revisits the financial conditions that produced this life of pure literature, finding unexpected hope in the darkest period of Borges’ forgotten past.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jun 14, 2016
Length: 31 minutes (7,830 words)