Beatrix M. Rooney discovers a tragic secret that may explain her brother’s descent into cruelty and violence.
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The Resplendent Photography of Carrie Mae Weems
Carrie Mae Weems may be our best contemporary photographer.
The Criminalization of the American Midwife
New York midwife Elizabeth Catlin faces 95 individual felony counts at her upcoming trial. For what? For doing her job. Politics and patriarchy make the work of many credentialed, experienced midwives illegal — to the detriment of women and underserved communities.
Shelved: Van Morrison’s Contractual Obligation Album
This is the sound of not really trying.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Jessica Lustig, Ed Yong, Leslie Jamison, Rosa Lyster, and Geoff Edgers.
On Vanishing
Dementia is a kind of erasure, a death before death, where the living discount the infirmed long before they’re gone.
Find Yourself
From way back in ’80s Philadelphia, Elizabeth Isadora Gold remembers her first writing teacher, the mail art artist/lyricist Stu Horn.
Chasing Spies From the Couch
Discover a website that solves crimes without its members ever leaving home.
An Ode to Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Unwritten’
MTV’s “The Hills” was a memorable reality show with an even more memorable theme song.
Longreads Best of 2020: Essays
A small sampling of standout essays published this year.

