“Ken Eto rose through the ranks of the Chicago mob, and then it tried to kill him. The underworld would never be the same.”
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The Violin Doctor
“He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to unlock the sound of a Stradivarius?”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
As January draws to a close, our favorite stories this week included a stirring critical essay, a paean to the world’s greatest boxed meal, a rethinking of psychedelics’ impact on the planet, a profile of a craftsperson at his peak, and an eye-opener about how humpback whales use air in some unexpected ways. 1. Corky […]
A Year in Reading: A Shift in Perspective
The stories that sparked awe and made me think differently in 2024.
The Joy of New Words and the Week’s Top 5
“Yet I still doggy paddle in impostor syndrome. For I am not a biologist or cetologist, nor an oceanographer. I am just a woman with a pen, a profound love for water, and an eye for noticing patterns in the currents, eddies, and swirls of living.” Sometimes words aren’t enough. Or, at least, existing words […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week’s edition highlights stories by Chris Walker, Katie Prout, Tim Requarth, Michael Schulman, and Celia Bell.
On Learning Love and Compassion, and the Week’s Top 5 Stories
“The way forward had to be with open eyes and with hearts exposed to injury. We’d seen the price we paid when we failed to bear witness.” Hello, weekend, c’mon in! The light is slowly returning to the Northern Hemisphere, and with it the promise of brighter days ahead. First up, Amory Rowe Salem writes […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending excellent stories by Alexia Fernández Campbell, April Simpson, and Pratheek Rebala; Michael Soffer; David Gambacorta; Jarod K. Anderson; and Claire L. Evans.
The Rise of Women Butchers, Six Reads on the Single Life, and Our Top 5
“But I’m the only woman in the classroom, and it has become absolutely essential that I do not gag. Although the number of women apprentices had been creeping up over the years, from the get-go, as a woman studying butchery, I am still a novelty.” Food writer and chef Olivia Potts, the author of “Life […]


