Aymann Ismail answers our questionnaire and an excerpt of The Atavist‘s latest story.
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The Longreads Questionnaire, Featuring Elisa Gabbert
The author of Any Person Is the Only Self and recent Guggenheim fellow talks about the worst time of day, the value of wasting an hour, and chilaquiles.
What a Tree—or a House—Remembers
Angelica Calabrese on family, memory, and the almond groves of Italy.
Full House, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose
When I was 10 or so, my grandmother came to stay with us for what my parents called “a while.” Longer than a visit, shorter than getting your mail forwarded.
The Powerful, Unlikely Force Shaping Modern TV
Eighteen years after Lost premiered, we’re living in a golden age of fan-theory TV. But where once that dynamic rankled showrunners and writers, Shirley Li writes, it’s now more of a symbiotic détente. That understanding, he said, seems to have led the relationship between writers and fans to “a more mutually beneficial place,” in which […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
War stories, new colors, and the joy in getting hands on in art and gardening.
Welcome to Alphaland, the Disney World for Bodybuilders
Of the many species of internet entrepreneurship that preys on vanity and shame, “fitness influencer” might be one of the most fraught. Yet, that’s exactly who Christian Guzman is courting with his massive gym in the Houston exurbs. Emily McCullar investigates the Oiliest Place on Earth. The line to buy day passes was steady, and […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we are featuring stories from Renata Brito and Felipe Dana, Jeff Weiss, Maddy Crowell, Stephen Rodrick, and David Jenkins.
“Take Her Down”: Inside eBay’s Stalking Campaign Against a Natick Couple
“Amazon. Etsy. eBay. Lots of companies appeared in David and Ina Steiner’s E-commerce newsletter. Only one tried to take them out.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Emily Bazelon, Eva Holland, Kevin Pang, Jessica Traynor, and David Pierce.


