A livelihood is not a life—yet many risk the latter in order to create the former.
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Pawns, Puppet Heads, and Paranoia: An Eccentrics Reading List
“They’re a little eccentric” is a phrase I suspect most of us have heard used to describe a certain kind of memorable person. For me, it evokes my childhood dentist — an elderly man who favored colorful bow ties and humming loudly as he worked, and who once wagged his finger in my face and […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we’re recommending stories by Zarlasht Halaimzai, Gloria Liu, E. Jean Carroll, Amy Margolis, and Chris Colin.
Don’t Close Your Teeth
“Cynthia Zarin traces the rise of fascism through the diary entries of Virginia Woolf.”
My Colon
“Until I was diagnosed last year, I had never met anyone with colon cancer—or at least anyone who had been open about it.”
They Played Football as Children. Now Their Families Mourn.
They gave up the game after high school, but the damage seemingly was already done. Now, their families mourn and look for answers.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: inside a cyberscam compound, behind bars but ahead of the times, up into the beyond, away from home, and under the night sky.
Knife Insurance: An Extreme Surgery Reading List
Never before have so many people sought medical intervention to address their insecurities—and never before has that intervention gone to such lengths.
‘Stay Away From Him. He’s Dangerous.’
“For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man—but the police knew his real name.”
The Rhythm of Writing: A Chat with the Writer and Editor Behind The Atavist’s New Issue
As host of The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, Brendan O’Meara is no stranger to talking about the art and craft of storytelling. In this craft-focused excerpt, we’re digging into Episode 336, in which he interviewed Atavist editor Jonah Ogles and freelance writer Cassidy Randall about her work on the latest issue of The Atavist. Cassidy Randall, a freelance writer based out […]

