What do we do when there are whole cities full of ghosts, each one with their own unique story to tell, each one with something left undone?
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‘In My 30 Years as a GP, the Profession has Been Horribly Eroded’
This is an insightful first-person account of the shifting role of an English doctor. The comparison offered — 30 years apart — tells a powerful story. Today, unlike 30 years ago, all patients are strangers and, as my catchment area now extends into different London boroughs, even the places I go are unfamiliar. Gone is […]
Inside the World of Nigerian “Yahoo Boys”
Could Carlos Barragán find the person who conned his mother?
The Book that Unleashed American Grief
This is a thought-provoking essay that examines how the rules about what could — and could not — be talked about in public, began to change. When did we first start to openly discuss what makes us who we are? Surely the book was too personal, Gunther’s publisher, Harper & Brothers, objected. Who would want […]
The Lie That Made Me
Aviva Coopersmith delivers a candid first-hand account on uncovering the harrowing truth behind her conception at the hands of an unscrupulous fertility doctor. The rest of the class-action plaintiffs are former patients: women like my mom who never consented to being inseminated with the sperm used to impregnate them; fathers like Rebecca’s, who have had […]
Librarians on the Front Lines: A Reading List for Library Lovers and Realists
Increasingly, being a librarian is less and less about books and more and more about community survival.
Mysteries of Menopause
In this personal essay, Lesley Hazleton not only makes peace with menopause, she sings its praises as a source of liberation from “want,” aka sexual desire.
He Spent 25 Years Infiltrating Nazis, the Klan, and Biker Gangs
“At six feet four and 260 pounds, he fills up a room without meaning to, though he never wastes time trying to merge with his surroundings. He’s funny and profane and could charm a lampshade off its base with his whiskey-sour drawl and Harley swagger. Small wonder that even strangers at the Quik Mart call […]
’Tis the Season to Kill the Dead-Mom Holiday Movie Trope
How many more women will festive filmmakers dispatch?
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Rachel Aviv, Clare Gerada, Fatima Syed, Leslie Jamison, and Deb Olin Unferth.

