Asking difficult questions often comes at a cost.
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The 25 Most Popular Longreads Exclusives of 2017
The personal essays, original reporting, and collaborations that were our most-read stories of the year.
Longreads Best of 2017: Essays
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in essays.
Hating Big Pharma Is Good, But Supply-Side Epidemic Theory Is Killing People
New books about the opioid crisis — “Dopesick,” “Fight for Space” and “American Fix” — have different ideas about who’s to blame and what to do next. Our critic says regulating supply can have deadly consequences, and we need to address users’ pain.
A Girl’s Guide to Missiles
A professor returns to the California military base where she grew up to make sense of her family’s role developing weapons for the US government.
Stewards of the Blood
One California woman tries to understand the code of honor that young men live by in blood feuds.
The Handgun and the Haunted Range
Justin Quarry hunted for himself, and a connection to his late father, with the unlikely inheritance of a firearm.
20 Years of Talking in Maths and Buzzing Like a Fridge
Radiohead’s OK Computer is 20 years old this year, and Anwen Crawford pens a lovely review-slash-analysis-slash-ode to this enduring album.
A Toxic Tour Through Underground Ohio
A booming injection well industry is pumping toxic waste deep into the earth in Ohio’s rural towns.
‘London Was, But Is No More’
A loving, fascinating, melancholy, rollicking look at how technology and globalization are transforming urban spaces.
