An essay about a forgotten deportation and the reckoning it left behind, a glimpse into Maria Popova’s writing and reading life, and our five recommended stories of the week.
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories by Christina Cooke, Tim Neville, Nate Rogers, Linda Kinstler, and Sandra Beasley.
To Study Zika, They Offered Their Kids. Then They Were Forgotten.
“Years after agreeing to take part in research, families of children with congenital Zika syndrome are feeling abandoned.”
The Edge of Emptiness
Lena Rowat skied 1,600 grueling miles across the Coast Range to quiet her demons. But she didn’t begin to silence them until tragedy struck.
Album as Poem, List as Confession, and Our Top 5
We may often think of poetry as something formal or grand, or meant for the pages of a book. But these two essays remind us that poetry lives in many places.
The Joy of Sweat and the Week’s Top 5
“To move in spin class only for the sake of moving, of the joyful challenge itself, of sweating and pushing and dancing, is cool water in my throat. To be loved, simply for showing up, is pure golden sun in my chest.” Happy Friday and welcome to (unofficial) autumn! If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere […]
The Search for Answers, and the Week’s Top 5
We become better in many ways, but it’s the best writers who give us the information and context required to do so, and let us do the work to get there.
Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Human ingenuity in the face of crumbling infrastructure. One man’s quest to save a bird that might already be extinct. The cultural schism dividing a major musical genre. A personal essay braiding space and family. And a jungle trek gone horribly, horribly awry. These are our editors’ favorite reads of the week. 1. The Balkans’ […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
We’re recommending stories by Eric Boodman, Ann Neumann, Amos Barshad, Rosecrans Baldwin, and Danielle Elliot.
A Water Obsession and Our Weekly Top 5
“The majority of home water use takes place in the bathroom, so that’s where I started. I scaled back my showers to once a week and only flushed the toilet when the need was overwhelming. I wandered my dark little apartment doing calculations on a loop. How many gallons of water does the Livingston faucet […]


