All reporters have pieces that stay with them, stories whose characters and components linger long after the last revisions have been rendered and the paper put to bed. For Jennifer Mendelsohn, Sean Bryant was that character. Mendelsohn first encountered Sean Bryant shortly after his death, nearly two decades ago. Transfixed by his short, vivid life and subsequent suicide, […]
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Posted inEditor's Pick
How To Not Seem Rich While Running For Office
A new generation of entitled politicians may not have struggled much. So they’re stealing from their elders. Candidates have been spinning Horatio Alger stories since the days of Horatio himself, or probably even the days of Great-Great-Grandpa Alger, who for all we know worked his nails to the nub scrubbing the decks of the Mayflower. […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
'Understand Your Enemy': What It Feels Like to Be Depressed
“It always helps to understand what’s happening, and to be able to understand your enemy. It helps you cope and helps you panic less. Now that I know what depression looks like and I know what the general steps are, there’s also a progression I can look at and feel comforted by. I can feel […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Naked, Covered in Ram’s Blood, Drinking a Coke, and Feeling Pretty Good
An exploration of the way other cultures treat depression: And I said, “Oh! What an interesting idea. Well, um, yes, sure. Yeah, absolutely, yes, let’s do that. I’ll have an ndeup.” “Oh, well, that’s great,” she said. And she gave us some fairly basic instructions, and then we left. And my translator, the aforementioned then-girlfriend, […]
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
Vagabonds, Crafty Bauds, and the Loyal Huzza: A History of London at Night
In the 16th & 17th centuries, “nightwalking” was a transgressive act in a city still on the brink of total nighttime illumination, but with complex implications depending on your social status.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
The Missing History of Ravensbrück, The Nazi Concentration Camp for Women
The story of the Nazis’ only concentration camp for women has long been obscured—partly by chance, but also by historians’ apathy towards women’s history. Sarah Helm writes about the camp, where the “cream of Europe’s women” were interned alongside its prostitutes, and members of the French resistance perished alongside Red Army prisoners of war.
Posted inMember Pick, Nonfiction, Story
For the Public Good: The Shameful History of Forced Sterilization in the U.S.
“I never figured out why they did that to me.”
Posted inMember Pick, Nonfiction
Untangling the Knot: My Search for Democracy in the Modern Family
Sabine Heinlein grew up in a family where everyone was treated as equals. It didn’t work out like they hoped.
Posted inNonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. * * * 1. Mother’s Mind Pam Belluck | The New York Times | June 16, 2014 | 22 minutes (5,482 words) A look at new […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
What It’s Like to Have Hypochondria
In a piece for Psychology Today, a man with hypochondria attempts to understand his disorder.
