Here’s every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
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Posted inBooks, First Chapters, History, Story
The Woman Who Smashed Codes: America’s Secret Weapon in World War II
How “know-nothings” Elizebeth Smith Friedman and William F. Friedman became the greatest codebreakers of their era.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Story
Take Me Home
While teaching English to communist party officials in post-war Laos, Kathryn Kefauver Goldberg reflects on silence and the legacy of trauma.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The FBI, My Husband, and Me
Journalist Shirley Streshinsky recounts how J. Edgar Hoover targeted her husband, photojournalist Ted Streshinsky, in attempts to label him a Soviet spy.
Posted inFiction, Nonfiction, Reading List
Five Stories About Espionage
Today’s spying relies on social media, surveillance, coercion and ambition.
Posted inEditor's Pick, Nonfiction
Forever Yesterday: Peering Inside My Mom’s Fading Mind
Kevin Sampsell bears witness to the ways in which Alzheimer’s has been pulling his mother back in time, and taking over her life.
Posted inFiction, Nonfiction, Reading List
Five Stories About Espionage
Today’s spying relies on social media, surveillance, coercion and ambition.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction
My Mongolian Spot
An ephemeral birthmark is a rare gift, connecting me to generations spanning the centuries.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
My Grandfather’s Fateful Goodbye, Reimagined
Karissa Chen tries to reconstruct the moment her grandfather, at 19, left Shanghai for Taiwan on a supposed vacation—a decision that would alter his life forever.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction
In Foreign Territory, Wondering: Who is the Alpha Monkey?
Leigh Shulman learns the meaning of home and belonging when she volunteers at a monkey refuge with her nine-year-old daughter.
