This week, we’re sharing stories from George Packer, Lindsay Peoples-Wagner and Morgan Jerkins, Paul Solotaroff, Lauren Owens Lambert, and Oscar Schwartz.
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How Your Cup of Coffee Is Clearing the Jungle
“However it happened, anywhere between 20,000 and 130,000 people — estimates range wildly — are farming illegally within Bukit Barisan Selatan.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Lyle C. May, Samuel Braslow, Lindsey Hilsum, Megan Mayhew Bergman, and Anand Menon.
Poets in the Machine
Why does the literary world still hold online writing at arm’s length?
Best of 2022: Profiles
A great profile accomplishes the nearly impossible by making you feel like you truly know someone you’ve never met. It’s a feat of empathy and insight, the kind of alchemy that turns reporting into rapport. The five examples here span all manner of tone and subject, from victims of gun violence to digital charlatans, but […]
And the Nominees Are…
Hi there, Last week, the American Society of Magazine Editors announced the finalists for this year’s National Magazine Awards. At Longreads, the first thing we noticed was that our sister publication, The Atavist, was a finalist in the Profile category for the story “Coming to America.” The second thing we noticed was how many of […]
Best of 2024: All Our Number One Story Picks
Every story that appeared in the number one slot in our Weekly Top 5, all in one place.
After Lorne
“The ringmaster of ‘Saturday Night Live’ is 80 years old. What happens to the show, not to mention American comedy, when he retires?”
What’s Happening to Reading?
“For many people, A.I. may be bringing the age of traditional text to an end.”
Our Best of 2024, and a Question for You
Hi there, Somehow, this is the thirteenth year of our annual “Best Of” series. As usual, we’ll be sharing our favorite reads across several categories—but this week, we wanted to try something a little different. Starting yesterday and for the remainder of the week, you’ll find an essay from each of the Longreads editors, reflecting […]


