How to Be Aca-Awesome

An interview with Kay Cannon, Pitch Perfect screenwriter, on how her a cappella comedy might be changing the definition of cool.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 27, 2015
Length: 13 minutes (3,345 words)

The Art of Running from the Police

A young man concerned that the police will take him into custody comes to see danger and risk in the mundane doings of everyday life. To survive outside prison, he learns to hesitate when others walk casually forward, to see what others fail to notice, to fear what others trust or take for granted.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 26, 2015
Length: 49 minutes (12,478 words)

The Art of the Con: Four Stories About Scams

There are lots of well-told stories about con men, Craigslist hoaxes and financial scams—here are a few of my favori

Source: Longreads
Published: May 24, 2015

Diane Arbus, Uncropped: A Reading List

Diane Arbus was renowned for photographing people on the margins, such as the mentally challenged, dwarves, giants, sideshow performers, crossdressers, and transsexuals. Was she merely a privileged voyeur of the vulnerable or an unsung champion of sexual and societal minorities? Here are five stories that will help you cut through the controversy.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 21, 2015

A Woman on the Margins

An interview with Vivian Gornick about the problem with writing programs, the memoir’s potential for dishonesty, and finding her way as a writer.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 19, 2015
Length: 16 minutes (4,223 words)

Four Stories About Disordered Eating

I think many of us have experiences with disordered eating, subconsciously or not.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 17, 2015

Q. Sakamaki and the Art of the Socio-Photo-Documentary

“Here, I see many barriers, many conflicts—between class, between race, between cultures, between ideologies, between jobs.”

Source: Longreads
Published: May 14, 2015
Length: 15 minutes (3,806 words)

Theorizing the Drone

What does the rise of the drone mean for justice, for the ethics of heroism, for psychology? Most important of all, who is dying and why?

Source: Longreads
Published: May 13, 2015
Length: 30 minutes (7,693 words)

A Brief History of AOL

A short reading list on the many lives of AOL, which will be acquired by Verizon for $4.4 billion. Fifteen years ago, AOL acquired Time Warner for $165 billion.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 12, 2015

Between Generals: A Newly Translated Short Story by Antonio Tabucchi

The complicated history of one of New York City’s immigrants, a former Hungarian General who realizes he spent one of his best days with his worst enemies. This Longreads Exclusive is a newly translated short story from Time Ages in a Hurry, a collection by Antonio Tabucchi.

Source: Longreads
Published: May 12, 2015
Length: 12 minutes (3,194 words)