“The religion of the internet posits questions like, ‘what’s the harm in believing?’ and ‘why shouldn’t I be prepared for the worst?’ The deeper you go, the harder those questions are to answer.”
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Ripples of Hate
“A chance encounter at N.Y. playground leaves a father asking, ‘What is justice now?’”
A Soundtrack for Longing, What Museums Reveal, and Our Top 5
“I most love a city I can describe to you by sound or song. Landmarks created via sonic moments, rather than the fleeting nature of architecture.” —Hanif Abdurraqib Welcome to the weekend! I want to thank all the readers who have recently signed up for a Longreads membership. Members will continue to receive this Top […]
What’s the Price of a Childhood Turned Into Content?
“In the unregulated world of vloggers, children are, for the most part, not entitled to a single cent they help earn. We spoke to creators—and a former kid influencer—to understand how this unusual family business actually works.”
The Day the Good Internet Died
“Did a Good Internet ever even exist, or am I just nostalgic for my youth?”
Taking Stock
Rob Horning explores the term “creator” in this essay on labor, exploitation, and content production and consumption on the internet. “Creator,” like “creativity,” is essentially a null term that signifies nothing about one’s activity but instead marks one’s limitless availability — a willingness to make anything at all in one’s life into content for sale.
The West Coast’s Fanciest Stolen Bikes Are Getting Trafficked by One Mastermind in Jalisco, Mexico
“A digital sleuth named Bryan Hance has spent the past four years obsessively uncovering a bicycle-theft pipeline of astonishing scale.”
Digital Havoc: A Reading List About Hacking
Behind the 1s and 0s, hackers are still people—and their motivations are more nuanced than you might think.
Old World, Young Africa
“Part one of a series on how the youth boom is changing the continent, and beyond.”

