“In an experimental program, 5,000 Chicagoans received monthly cash payments from the city for a year, no strings attached. Here’s how the money changed one woman’s life — and how it didn’t.”
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When a Houseplant Obsession Becomes a Nightmare
“Some of us just can’t resist the allure of the carnivorous Nepenthes. They’re beautiful, rare, and in every way life-consuming.”
For the Love of Losing
“I began to wonder if running off with a blackjack team…wasn’t my way of throwing down the gauntlet to my father…who had gambled all his life.”
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.
When the Hit Man Starts Talking
“A former FBI agent traveled to Louisiana to ask a hired killer about a murder that haunted him. Then they started talking about a different case altogether.”
Suzanne Takes You Down to Her Place Near the River
“Wrestling with debt, ambition, and the woman who inspired Leonard Cohen’s famous song.”
How to Scam Like a Celebrity
“His alleged victims say he bribed New York Police Department officials, stole millions in diamonds, and persuaded Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Kim Kardashian to shill for a scam cryptocurrency. So why is Jona Rechnitz still free?”
A Pact of Love (and Our Top 5)
“The soaring vermilion bridge is one of the first sights that most transplants tick off their must-see list, and Ashwini’s work took her all around San Francisco. Avoiding even a glimpse of it took effort. But Ashwini had made a promise to another woman 7,500 miles away: She would not see the bridge until they […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we are featuring stories from Mark Follman, Scott Stossel, Wei Tchou, Sara Franklin, and Alexander Sammon.


