A century-defining album’s improbable genesis.
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Relationships in a Time of Excretory Trouble
Dating is laborious and embarrassing. Irritable bowel syndrome is, too. In Narratively in March 2014, food critic and memoirist Gwendolyn Knapp wrote about both, detailing the humor and stamina involved in dating with IBS in a city of spicy food like New Orleans. When you feel the need to shit uncontrollably, dating is tough. Like […]
Beyond the Breach
Ten years after Katrina, Wright Thompson reports on the transformation of New Orleans, meeting with athletes, activists, community leaders, journalists, and legislators to get a sense of how far the city has come, and the difficult work that still needs to be done.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
The Top 5 Longreads of the week.
How Mardi Gras Helped Make Mahalia Jackson a Political Activist
“I never did like the world-famous Mardi Gras that went on in New Orleans. It was a beautiful sight, but to me it was horrible. I have seen so many people hurt on that particular day . . . The white people would celebrate their Mardi Gras with big and expensive floats that went down the main part of Canal Street, which were very beautiful and high class . . . But for my people, for them it would be such a tragedy. “
Meet the Man Behind the First Slavery Museum in America
He was driving around the Whitney in his Ford S.U.V., making sure the museum would be ready for the public. Born and raised in New Orleans, Cummings is as rife with contrasts as the land that surrounds his plantation. He is 77 but projects the unrelenting angst of a teenager. His disposition is exceedingly proper […]
Longreads Best of 2015: Investigative Reporting
The best in investigative reporting.
Ta-Nehisi Coates on the Legacy of Structural Neglect in Inner Cities
Coates has made a name for himself by pointing out how structural racism continues to pervade in the U.S.
The Art of Paint-and-Sip Franchising
The paint-and-sip industry is a little more than a decade old. People show up to drink while an instructor slowly guides them, step-by-step, through the creation of a prechosen design. The idea was pioneered by Painting With a Twist, which two women in New Orleans started while looking for a reason to gather after Hurricane […]

