This week, we’re sharing stories from Wright Thompson, Fred Kaplan, Tori Marlan, Casey Gerald, and Sarah Everts.
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Holding Space, Internet Community, and Our Top 5
“I think of Tomm every time the sunlight shines on R’s face. He is not Tomm’s replacement and Tomm is not his shadow. My son has added to the pile of glimmers that make me remember my brother.” Author Maria Zorn and I share one thing in common: We both lost our brothers unexpectedly. Grief […]
600? Is That Even Possible?
“There are bookshelves in every room of my home except the bathroom, and I often squirrel away small books as emergency reading to be carried in purses and backpacks, for buses, trains, and waiting rooms.” Well, here we are. We’ve been rounding up our five favorite stories of the week for more than 12 years […]
Six Stories About a Complex Cuisine and Our Top 5
“Migration patterns, together with demographic trends and climate change, mean that the cuisine must adapt. Italian food—so rooted in tradition and adamant in its authenticity—will have to change.” In previous reading lists, Longreads contributor Clare Egan has explored a range of topics: Ireland, queer ecology, and the decision to have a child. This week, Egan dives […]
Finding Strength in What’s Routine (and Our Top 5)
“A list, after all, is a confession. We do not write in typeface. We write in loops and hesitations. In ink smudges. In cursive, if we remember how. Each list is a thumbprint. Each paper a window.” There is no sugar coating the world today. Things are rough. I’m no self-help expert, but in times […]
What the Journey Brings, and Our Weekly Top 5
“I-95 is an artery of ambition, movement, and flight. A place where millions of people hurry toward love and loss, carrying their hope, their grief, their ordinary Tuesdays, all at 70 miles per hour.” A favorite program of mine is Race Across the World. The concept is simple: Teams must cross entire countries without flying, armed only […]
Up, Up, and Away to the Week’s Top 5
“Wallace was a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants sort. A 54-year-old Massachusetts lawyer and real estate developer, he couldn’t afford to fly conservatively. Gas ballooning, similar to jockeyship, favored lightweight pilots, who could stock their baskets with more sand. Compared with his slighter opponents, Wallace’s six-foot-five, 240-pound frame meant that the equivalent of three additional 30-pound bags of sand […]
Odes to the Heart and the Week’s Top 5
“There is something about the heart. It beats until it doesn’t. I don’t give or withhold permission. To live my life is to accept—in this one, life-giving ongoingness that occurs right at the heart of me—that I am not the center of this story.” August is just around the corner, and as we fly through the year […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring notable stories from Paul Solotaroff, Maddie Oatman, Gabriel Smith, Meg Bernhard, and Alexandra Horowitz.
Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we’re sharing stories from Kamran Javadizadeh, Joshua Hunt, Amy McCarthy, Jaron Lanier, and Andy Greene.


