Every story that appeared in the number five slot in our Weekly Top 5, all in one place.
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Ben Mauk and Matt Huynh, Katie Engelhart, Devon O’Neil, Ariel Saramandi, and Tananarive Due.
Remembering, Forgetting, and The Week’s Top 5
Two brand new essays and The Weekly Top 5.
Into the Darkness
Germany’s Black Forest faces a future of transformation. So do the people who have lived there for centuries.
What Lies Beneath Hip-Hop’s Swagger
Over the weekend, The New York Times Magazine published a twist on its annual “Songs That Matter” package: “Songs That Got Us Through It.” The newest is overall a remarkable project, stuffed with keen criticism. But Smith’s piece, which feels for the pulse of aggression in today’s and yesterday’s hip-hop, stands out — as bracing […]
The Car-Crash Conspiracy
“High-speed accidents, crooked lawyers, and poor people desperate for cash—it was the kind of scheme that could have been cooked up only in the Big Easy.”
The Rise of Women Butchers, Six Reads on the Single Life, and Our Top 5
“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 […]
On the Hollow Highs of Hallmark Holiday Films (and More)
“Filmmakers use a character’s grief to evoke viewers’ sympathy and cravings for a quick fix. The Christmas widower trope exploits these very human tendencies, triggering sadness for the sake of sadness and making the cheap promise of a neat resolution tied up in a pretty bow.” We hope you enjoyed last week’s story, “Christmas on […]
George Bell Served 24 Years in Prison for a Crime He Didn’t Commit. Now He’s Learning to Live Again.
“After a quarter century behind bars, he was exonerated for the 1996 crime and received the largest payout ever from New York City. But money can’t buy back all that time.”
The Legendary Band Who Got the Beat (and Our Top 5)
“They were both powerful images that the bands chose themselves, which subverted the idea of how women should market their music. There was also the idea that the women wanted to conceal themselves, whether with face masks or mud, to keep a part hidden, especially from a music industry that wanted women to reveal themselves, […]


