Very rarely can we see an entire system reflected in one person. The creator and executive producer of “Saturday Night Live” is such a person.
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The Mysterious Case of a Nameless Hiker
A friendly and charming hiker was known on the trail as “Mostly Harmless.” After his body was discovered in a tent in Florida, no one could figure out who he was.
The Longreads Questionnaire, Featuring Vauhini Vara
The author of Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age and The Immortal King Rao on memorable meals and books about whales.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories by Jeannette Cooperman, Jackson Arn, Andrew Hui, Myriam Gurba, and Simon Hattenstone.
Food, Shared Humanity, and the Week’s Top 5
“Once weekly fare, I now have cholent only a few times a year; I, too, am no longer observant. I don’t think this is a coincidence. Which is to say that, while I stand by the choices I’ve made and the life I am choosing to live—different from how I was raised, but no less […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Hannah Dreier, Jason Fagone and Julie Johnson, Shruti Swamy, John Jeremiah Sullivan, and Kristen Arnett.
Longreads Best of 2021: All of Our No. 1 Story Picks
Here’s every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
The Strange True Tale of ‘Castro’s No. 1 Killer’
Herman Marks, a drifter from Milwaukee, took a boat to Cuba with nothing but a Colt .45 revolver and $400 in cash. His plan? To join the revolution.
Encounters With Ghosts
“We were all there to see ghosts; we were all, I suppose, future ghosts.”
Best of 2025: All Our Number One Story Picks
Every story we selected for the number one slot in our weekly newsletter, all in one place.


