How does someone get away with helping a foreign adversary? Writer Sarah Laskow digs into the gonzo story of an American acquitted of spying for the Soviets—even after he confessed to it.
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Where Have You Hidden the Cholera?
In Mozambique and around the world — and throughout history — cholera outbreaks have caused riots. Why? And what does it have to do with bicycles?
Gossip and News, Strange Bedfellows
Recent stories exposing powerful, abusive men suggest there’s value in taking rumors seriously.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Our top stories of the week, as chosen by the editors at Longreads.
Good Coffee Shouldn’t Have to Cost More Than $1
American’s infatuation with coffee, and the quest to see whether a delicious, $1 cup of joe is possible.
When Sartre and Beauvoir Started a Magazine
In 1945, Les Temps modernes shocked the world with its pessimism and grim determination, and catapulted its founders into intellectual superstardom.
Longreads Best of 2016: Business & Tech Reporting
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here, the best in business and tech reporting.
Six Years Later, Over 400,000 Dead: The Graffiti Kids Who Sparked the Syrian War
Mark MacKinnon tells the story of Naief Abazid — who, at the urging of some older boys, graffitied a school wall on a lark in Daraa, Syria, at age 14. The “writing on the wall” enraged Syria’s Baathist dictatorship, and became the source of ignition in the Syrian war.
The Great Online School Scam
Students are performing worse than ever, but private companies are making millions.
The Human Cost of the Ghost Economy
Melissa Chadburn goes undercover as a temp worker.

