In this edition: Lost soul, copy that, missing beats, muzzled watchdogs, and a ramblin’ man.
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Posted inNonfiction
Best of 2023: Personal Essays
Our favorite personal essays published this year include stories on loss, Indigenous community, video games, caring for aging relatives, and the fear of missing love.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Cartoonist Who Mocked the Madness of Modernism
“With biting satire, Alan Dunn captured how 20th-century architectural trends left everyday Americans astonished, baffled, and enraged.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Nuns Trying to Save the Women on Texas’s Death Row
“Sisters from a convent outside Waco have repeatedly visited the prisoners—and even made them affiliates of their order. The story of a powerful spiritual alliance.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
How to Hire a Pop Star for Your Private Party
“For the very rich, even the world’s biggest performers—Beyoncé, Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Andrea Bocelli—are available, at a price.”
Posted inFeature
A Year in Reading: The Wounds That Bind
On the hard-hitting, unforgettable stories of 2024.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Percival Everett Can’t Say What His Novels Mean
“The author of ‘Erasure’ is renowned for his satires of genre, identity, and America. But his great target may be language itself.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Delicate Art of Turning Your Parents Into Content
“Gen Z creators are learning the lessons of Scorsese and Akerman: putting mom and dad in your work brings pathos, complexity, and a certain frisson.”
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we’re showcasing stories from Mari Cohen, Brenna Ehrlich, Grace Glassman, Tad Friend, and Imogen West-Knights.
Posted inEditor's Pick
How 3M Executives Convinced a Scientist the Forever Chemicals She Found in Human Blood Were Safe
“Decades ago, Kris Hansen showed 3M that its PFAS chemicals were in people’s bodies. Her bosses halted her work. As the EPA now forces the removal of the chemicals from drinking water, she wrestles with the secrets that 3M kept from her and the world.”
