“But I’m the only woman in the classroom, and it has become absolutely essential that I do not gag. Although the number of women apprentices had been creeping up over the years, from the get-go, as a woman studying butchery, I am still a novelty.” Food writer and chef Olivia Potts, the author of “Life […]
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Belting out Songs and Our Top 5
“There’s something about losing yourself in a communal experience that’s immensely appealing in this age of virtual meetings and not-so-social media. We want to see the artists we love in person. We want to believe they’re singing directly to us.” Elizabeth Blackwell, a regular commentator on cultural phenomena (check out her Reality TV and Pivotal […]
On Stamina, the Need to Write, and the Urgency of Youth
Award-winning poet Carl Phillips on writing, poetry, and perspective.
Best of 2024: All Our Number Five Story Picks
Every story that appeared in the number five slot in our Weekly Top 5, all in one place.
‘No Aliens, No Spaceships, No Invasion of Earth’
For the film’s 25th anniversary, Vulture compiled an oral history of Contact, the sci-fi movie that defied Hollywood norms and made it big anyway. Here are Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey: Foster: Nobody was computer literate at the time. I remember the first day with the technical adviser, [“We had Gerry Griffin on the movie,” Zemeckis […]
What’s in a Name, and Our Top 5
“At home, I was Spanish. At school, American. When mom got angry at us, the ultimate insult would be spewed: ‘Ay! That is so American!’ But outside of the house, while in the presence of my peers, I wanted that to be true. Being so American would mean I would be allowed to wear shorts to school. I would […]
On Mistaking Whales
“Here whales have been homes. A practical space, shelter and host to meals and births and deaths. Host to the least abstract kinds of love. Familial, romantic, parental. Here whales have made those intimacies, by giving people the capacity to live.”
Six Stories About a Complex Cuisine and Our Top 5
“Migration patterns, together with demographic trends and climate change, mean that the cuisine must adapt. Italian food—so rooted in tradition and adamant in its authenticity—will have to change.” In previous reading lists, Longreads contributor Clare Egan has explored a range of topics: Ireland, queer ecology, and the decision to have a child. This week, Egan dives […]
Kingdom of Funga: A Mycelial Reading List on a Strange and Surreal World Around Us
Seven stories celebrating the mystery and power of fungi.
Our Most-Read Longreads Originals of 2022
These essays and reported features are our most-read stories of the year.

