“When I moved to Billtown, I worried most about whether fracking tainted groundwater. By the time I left the area, my biggest concern was whether the liberty granted to citizens to lease their land, or to otherwise act in ways that limits others’ access to environmental goods, taints democracy.”
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Posted inStory
Deconstructing Disney: Queer Coding and Masculinity in Pocahontas
Pocahontas may seem like a strange vehicle for discussing our gay villains. But Disney gets inventive when they need to circumvent white people’s historical responsibility for genocidal atrocities — and queerness is a useful scapegoat.
Posted inStory
The Artificial Intelligence of the Public Intellectual
Today’s public intellectuals have their own version of the American Dream, where one person, on their own, can achieve anything — including being the smartest person in the room.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Quotes
I Must Be One of the Best, Because I’m Not One of the Worst
Iraq War veteran Phil Klay reckons with his own complicity.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Tales of War and Redemption
“The violence I have seen has left me feeling hollowed out, unable to gild all the agony with some beautiful meaning.”
Posted inNonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Megan Twohey, Jodi Kantor, Susan Dominus, Jim Rutenberg, and Steve Eder; Eliana Dockterman, Stephanie Zarachek, and Haley Sweetland Edwards; John Woodrow Cox; Nadim Roberts; and Phil Klay.
Posted inNonfiction
One Man’s Poison
The only way to protect herself from her father was to erase him from her life, but she survived being his daughter by acting just like he did.
Posted inReading List
Tangled Up in Bob Stories: A Dylan Reading List
Few musicians have generated as much music and as much study as this Nobel Prize winning singer-songwriter. Dylanology will last hundreds of years.
Posted inStory
Japan: A Longform Reading List of Longform Writing
Armchair travel is more important than ever, now that pandemic has forced us to stay indoors. Reading can take you across the ocean.
