Melissa Chadburn goes undercover as a temp worker.
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Wallace Shawn’s Late Night
The playwright has a lot to tell viewers about human nature and our depraved era. Too bad so few people have seen his plays.
‘Open Casket’ and the Question of Empathy
Did Dana Schutz’s painting engage with her subject, Emmett Till, ethically and responsibly?
The Great Online School Scam
Students are performing worse than ever, but private companies are making millions.
Longreads Best of 2016: Investigative 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 investigative reporting
Why We Resist: Seven Stories About Protest
There are stories here about the Native-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, folks standing up to Donald Trump and his white supremacist cronies, and prisoners striking against their miserable living conditions in a racist system.
How U.S. Torture Left a Legacy of Damaged Minds
So much for assurances that harsh interrogation techniques used by the United States at Guantanamo Bay and in secret CIA prisons around the world wouldn’t cause lasting harm. New York Times reporters interviewed over 100 former detainees for this article on the never-ending psychological torment many of them live with years later.
The Death Penalty on Display
At The Texas Observer, Robin Ross writes on the rise of dark tourism — the macabre fascination with the Huntsville’s Texas Prison Museum — site of America’s first lethal injection.
Revisiting the Ghosts of Attica
A wrenching new book recounts the bloodiest prison battle in our history.
Longreads Best of 2016: Here Are All of Our No. 1 Story Picks from This Year
All through December, we’ll be featuring Longreads’ Best of 2016. To get you ready, here’s a list of every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.

