This week, a number of people heard of Roxane Gay for the first time when Simon & Schuster canceled its plans to publish controversial alt-right author Milo Yiannopoulos’s book — but her success has been building for a long time.
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Seven Hikers’ Descent into Doom at Zion National Park
The Los Angeles Times reconstructs the final hours of the seven experienced hikers who lost their lives last week in a flash flood at Zion National Park.
The Arsonist Was Like a Ghost
It was the thirtieth fire in less than two months. Who was trying to burn down Accomack County?
My Journey to the Heart of the FOIA Request
Fifty years ago, the Freedom of Information Act gave the public access to government secrets — all you had to do was ask. How a simple request became a bureaucratic nightmare.
‘Dance Me to the End of Love’: Joan Juliet Buck on Her Platonic Friendship with Almost-Lover Leonard Cohen
“Under the influence of Leonard Cohen’s words, Germaine Greer’s polemic, and [Anais] Nin’s lies, I believed that sexual rapture was the key to connection through chaos.”
Prosecutor, Interrupted: A Kamala Harris Reading List
Profiles of Senator Harris over the past decade show her as both smart and warm. Increasingly, they ask if she has what it takes to win.
My Mongolian Spot
An ephemeral birthmark is a rare gift, connecting me to generations spanning the centuries.
Two Brothers, Two Earthquakes
On Sept. 19, 2017 a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico, sending panicked residents fleeing into the streets. For two brothers the fear was familiar—they had experienced this exactly 32 years before.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. * * * 1. The Great A.I. Awakening Gideon Lewis-Kraus | New York Times | Dec. 14, 2016 | 60 minutes (15,174 words) The story of how Google developed artificial intelligence to vastly improve its translation service, […]
We Should Be Talking About the Effect of Climate Change on Cities
But we’re not. Instead, the effects on cities tend to be edited out or statistically minimized.

