The profiles we loved in 2023 cover a Uvalde mom turned gun-control advocate, Ginni and Clarence Thomas, a love letter to Louisiana and two unrelated women born there in 1953, the man behind the Twitter persona “Dril,” and an underdog surfer nicknamed “Casual Luke.”
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A Forgotten Deportation, a New Questionnaire Series, and Our Top 5
An essay about a forgotten deportation and the reckoning it left behind, a glimpse into Maria Popova’s writing and reading life, and our five recommended stories of the week.
The Women Who Built Grunge
Bands like L7 and Heavens to Betsy were instrumental to the birth of the grunge scene, but for decades were treated like novelties and sex objects. Thirty years later, it’s time to reassess their legacy.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring notable stories by Bridget Read, Oscar Schwartz, Mosab Abu Toha, Sierra Bellows, and Stuart Heritage.
The Universe, T-Swift, and This Week’s Top 5
“Growing up it was drilled in me that no word should touch the ground. Words are to be revered no matter what those words might mean. Once my Nana insisted my entire room be reorganized because my bookshelf was stationed such that when I went to bed the backs of my feet faced the books […]
A Hackers Reading List and Our Top 5
“Despite endless warnings highlighting the dangers of the digital world, there is a growing acceptance that, in return for the speed and convenience of the internet, we must relinquish a little of our privacy.” In the ’80s, “hacking” wasn’t a familiar concept to most moviegoers. Do you remember watching WarGames for the first time? The […]
‘What’s Covid?’ Why People at America’s Hardest-Partying Lake Are Not About to Get Vaccinated
“Like other places with low vaccination rates, there is a deep distrust of authority that exists among those at the Lake of the Ozarks. Politicians have agendas, the press loves controversy, even data can’t be believed. Some here cast hospitalization spikes as fictionalized. Others spin conspiracy theories about microchips.”
An English Murder Mystery, an Antarctic Romance, and Our Top 5
“I know this land is far from sinister, I know it is appreciated by those who live here, but I also see that the life of a dairy farmer is often a hard, unforgiving existence. And no family saw that solitude and struggle more than the Luxtons.” In the late summer of 1975, deep in […]
Dimes, Dunks, and Devotion: A Basketball Reading List
Seven essays that go beyond the box score.


