“Jeanine Cummins can write about Mexico — but she will be judged on whether her writing actually captures the experiential and emotional and ethical complexity of that place, and she will be judged with extra care because she is an outsider.”
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Posted inBusiness & Tech
Peter Thiel Makes Sure His Kids Are All Right
Why the libertarian billionaire keeps tabs on the magazine he founded at Stanford 30 years ago.
Posted inStory
When Did Pop Culture Become Homework?
When art is a should or a must or a have to, when we turn it into a chore, it is the opposite of what art is supposed to be.
Posted inNonfiction
What the World’s Most Controversial Herbicide Is Doing to Rural Argentina
After enormous lobbying efforts, Monsanto’s GMO soybeans, treated with Roundup, became the country’s largest export, as cancer rates and other health issues skyrocketed.
Posted inQuotes, The Atavist Magazine, Unapologetic Women
Chasing Down a Child Genius in Montana
Promethea’s education was the most important thing in her mother’s life. Then a mysterious benefactor made it his business as well.
Posted inArts & Culture, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
Shelved: The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band’s “Brain Opera”
What happens when you’re not different just for the sake of being different.
Posted inStory
Downsizing the American Black Middle Class
Government jobs helped thousands of Black families move into the middle class. Now, increasing calls for government privatization are pushing them back out.
Posted inArts & Culture, Nonfiction, Story
The Young Man and the Sea Sponge
SpongeBob SquarePants turned 20 this summer. This is the story of how a marine biology teacher named Stephen Hillenburg gave life to an animated character who continues to delight fans worldwide.
Posted inReading List
The 25 Most Popular Longreads Exclusives of 2018
The original reporting, personal essays, columns, and collaborations that were our most-read stories of the year.
Posted inNonfiction
Unearthing the Story: An Interview with Peter Hessler
The New Yorker writer describes his career’s circuitous route, from his start as a struggling fiction writer to becoming a China correspondent, and now the author of a new book about the Arab Spring.
