Physiognomy is a discarded 19th-century pseudoscience. Why can’t we stop practicing it?
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Posted inNonfiction, Story
Born Again
“Rebirth therapy” was meant to help a troubled girl start over, but it ended her life instead.
Posted inArts & Culture, Books, Media, Nonfiction, Story
How the Guardian Went Digital
Remaking itself from a little leftie newspaper to a powerhouse of internet journalism required experimentation, transparency, and embracing uncertainty.
Posted inArts & Culture, History, Science & Nature, Story
The Ugly History of Beautiful Things: Perfume
Sometimes it takes a touch of darkness to create something alluring.
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
Father of Disorder
One woman finds insight into her father’s rage in the scientific concept of entropy.
Posted inReading List
Longreads Best of 2017: Science, Technology, and Business Writing
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in business, tech, and science writing.
Posted inNonfiction
You’ve Reached the Winter of Our Discontent
A half-assed elegy for the Cool-Loser Dream Boy of Gen-X cinema.
Posted inBooks, History, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Story
A Beast for the Ages
Why do we love (and fear, and kill) polar bears with so much intensity?
Posted inBooks, Food, Story
Eating Alone
We’re eating alone more often than in any previous generation. But why should a meal on our own be uninspired? Why shouldn’t the French saying “life is too short to drink bad wine” still apply?
Posted inNonfiction
The Case for Letting Malibu Burn
Many of California’s native ecosystems evolved to burn. Modern fire suppression creates fuels that lead to catastrophic fires. So why do people insist on rebuilding in the firebelt?
