“What could have fizzled out as a weekend infatuation turned into a full-blown obsession, an online epic quest. After the festival, I decided that a dulcimer was something I really needed, but I never just need things; I also crave learning about them deeply from the people who already know.” Who among us has never fallen into […]
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Happy Birthday to Us, and the Week’s Top 5
“The anxiety of hunger settled under my ribs like the feeling you get when you’re about to burst into tears. The hum of the refrigerator alone was enough to make me want to bury my head in the backyard. I often dreamt of donuts, and once, of my sister-in-law’s mother, a tenacious Serbian woman, bringing […]
The Most Corrupt Cop in New Orleans and Our Weekly Top 5
“Murder is what landed Davis in court, but the victim wasn’t in the drug game. She was a single mother who had filed a brutality complaint against Davis. The next day, he ordered a hit man to kill her.” Congratulations, we’ve made it to the fifth month of 2024! For you, in addition to our […]
The Joy of Sweat and the Week’s Top 5
“To move in spin class only for the sake of moving, of the joyful challenge itself, of sweating and pushing and dancing, is cool water in my throat. To be loved, simply for showing up, is pure golden sun in my chest.” Happy Friday and welcome to (unofficial) autumn! If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere […]
The 19th-Century Hipster Who Pioneered Modern Sportswriting
More than a century before GoPro, Thomas Stevens’ around-the-world bike ride vaulted first-person “sports porn” into the mainstream.
Bad Blood (Longreads’ Version): A Musical Feuds Reading List
Whether competition between artists or strife within a band, popular music features some of pop culture’s messiest rivalries.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Blake Ellis, Melanie Hicken, Yahya Abou-Ghazala, Audrey Ash, Kyung Lah, Anna-Maja Rappard, Casey Tolan, Lou Robinson, and Byron Manley; Lindsey Liles; David Gauvey Herbert; Laura Trethewey; and Abe Beame.
‘Stay Away From Him. He’s Dangerous.’
“For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man—but the police knew his real name.”
Three Strings: Past, Present, and Future
Finding beauty, human connection, and one’s heritage in the resonant sounds of the dulcimer.
Of Innocence and Experience
“Can anybody really say that socially reproducing the present state of things is a desirable goal? So, then, what do we dream of?”


