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.
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Posted inNewsletter
Sun, Sand, and Reading
“We could all use a little silence, a little levity. To that end, and with the peak of summer upon us, I’ve pulled together some of my favorite longreads that remind you of the joy it is to be human, even in this increasingly inhumane world.” Last week, I was on a sun lounger on […]
Posted inFeature
Magical Mystery Toads
The long, tangled, and mostly wrong history of the psychedelic toad.
Posted inReading List
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.
Posted inProfiles & Interviews, Writing
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 […]
Posted inNonfiction
‘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.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: January begins, finding beauty, powerful blues, toxic water, and begonia batons.
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we are featuring stories from Robert Sanchez, Amos Barshad, Mark Dent, Zoya Teirstein, and Caity Weaver.
Posted inNewsletter
Loneliness, Power, and the Top 5 of the Week
“I want to be left alone, but I don’t want to be lonely.” Hanif Abdurraqib writes this about a tension that dominated the career of singer Phyllis Hyman—but it also feels like a familiar plea in this dim, early-January week, when many of us leave the chaos of extended family and drift back into our own homes, our own jobs, and perhaps our own small pockets of solitude.
Posted inFeature
Vigilantes at Dawn
A forgotten deportation, a family archive, and the cost of belonging.
