Maureen Stanton contemplates her history of crying in inappropriate moments, and considers tears from gender-based and political perspectives.
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On Solitude (and Isolation and Loneliness [and Brackets])
Sarah Fay reflects on four years spent in solitude (and isolation [and loneliness]), viewing it through the lens of punctuation.
Swipe White
Jennifer Chong Schneider considers what it is to be Asian, maligned, and fetishized in dating — and questions her own desire when she dates someone of her own ethnicity for the first time.
Swipe White
Jennifer Chong Schneider considers what it is to be Asian, maligned, and fetishized in dating — and questions her own desire when she dates someone of her own ethnicity for the first time.
How ‘Jane Crow’ Is Ravaging Families of Color
Authorities in New York City are using foster care as punishment against poor, non-white families.
Brigid, Magdalene, My Mother, and Me
Carmel Mc Mahon contemplates the legacy of trauma passed down through generations of Irish women.
In Defense of Schadenfreude
Historian Tiffany Watt Smith argues that schadenfreude, the joy we derive from another’s misfortune, is just a natural part of the very complex emotional responses we have as human beings.
Shelved: The Sound of Big Star’s Self-Destruction
As the band dissolved, they managed to capture their destruction in some dark, powerful music.
The Story of Salvador’s Banda Didá
In a country with violent history and violent politics, Brazil’s first all-female, Afro-Brazilian percussion group drums and dances and changes lives.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Emily Chang, Kiera Feldman, Motoko Rich, David J. Unger, and Nicole Chung.

