Michael Thevis built a lucrative pornography empire in the 1970s only to spend the rest of his life in prison.
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Caity Weaver, Marisa Meltzer, Jiayang Fan, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, and Jeff Maysh.
What Ever Happened To the Truth?
Michiko Kakutani is interested in how the distinction between fact and fiction has blurred — and how this makes us all complicit.
An Immoderate Novel for an Immoderate Season: An Interview with Olivia Laing
Olivia Laing’s new novel, “Crudo,” is a fictionalized account of the summer of 2017, written in real time by Laing — from the perspective of Kathy Acker.
Longreads Best of 2017: Investigative Reporting on Sexual Misconduct
Investigations into sexual misconduct perpetrated by powerful men across several industries had the biggest impact in 2017.
Journalists Shouldn’t Be Fired for Investigating Their Own Publications
And everyone in this industry should speak out against it.
Bread, Disrupted
Bread: it was so terrible, right? Thank goodness the tech industry finally iterated on it so we can make a decent piece of toast after 6,000 years.
True Roots
One woman quits coloring her gray hair and investigates the human and environmental costs of this contentious female beauty standard.
Longreads Best of 2017: Crime Reporting
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in crime reporting.
The Hole in My Soul
Sara Eckel surprised her agnostic parents by becoming a born-again Christian at age 10. It was the first of many attempts to believe.

