“There’s something about losing yourself in a communal experience that’s immensely appealing in this age of virtual meetings and not-so-social media. We want to see the artists we love in person. We want to believe they’re singing directly to us.” Elizabeth Blackwell, a regular commentator on cultural phenomena (check out her Reality TV and Pivotal […]
Our top picks in the investigative reporting category.
Making stuff up is harder, stranger, and occasionally more dangerous than it looks. Seven stories that explore the world of constructed languages.
“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 […]
“Ritual is an urge and an act; it’s an aesthetic gesture. As an adult I established the habit of turning my attention to those subtle seasonal details and recording them. I was loving and honoring the land, but this practice still left something undone. A certain clarity, maybe formality. Something like a frame around a […]
“Deep in the valley below us, in the middle distance, gaped the great black cauldron of Litli-Hrútur, its insides awash in a churning fiery stew. We stood in silence on the observation mound with our hands on our hips, faces cast in childish masks of wonder and awe. ” This week, we have two beautiful essays […]
Andrew Leland’s fascinating piece in The New Yorker explores Protactile, a system of tactile communication that has evolved into a national movement for autonomy among DeafBlind people across the U.S. Still, several linguists have come to believe that, among some of its frequent users, Protactile is developing into its own language, with words and grammatical […]
Notable reads by Marco Giancotti, Jessica Davey-Quantick, Reeves Wiedman, Emily Fox Kaplan, and C Pam Zhang.
“A chronicle of a slow-motion climate disaster that became one of Oregon’s deadliest calamities.”
“I felt like a rat trapped in a maze with no finish, running into walls and getting electrocuted at every turn. I wanted out of the hellscape I’d created, but I had formed a whole identity around the latticework of visible bones and tendons; my days were structured around the denial of food. To give […]
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