Caitlin Flanagan goes on a road trip through California — including Sacramento, Berkeley, and Malibu — visiting the homes of the late Joan Didion and exploring why her writing has had such a powerful effect on people. Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album created a new vocabulary of essay writing, one whose influence is […]
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, our editors recommend stories by Caitlin Dickerson, Samira Shackle, Mitchell S. Jackson, Roberto José Andrade Franco, and Ian Dille.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Josefa Velasquez, Wufei Yu, Tom Foster, Tim Requarth, and Ellen Ruppel Shell.
The Passing of a Monarch: A Reading List on Queen Elizabeth II
A look at the remarkable life and complicated legacy of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Complicated Capitalism of Plastics
“It might not seem like the right time to talk about plastics…But it is. And the world doesn’t have a moment to waste.”
Life on Screen: A Reality Television Reading List
Reality TV: Guilty pleasure or public service?
Best of 2022: Investigative Reporting
The incredible stories that exposed abuses of both power and people.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from George Packer, Lindsay Peoples-Wagner and Morgan Jerkins, Paul Solotaroff, Lauren Owens Lambert, and Oscar Schwartz.
Odd, Genius, or Something In Between: A Reading List on Writers
“Give me the weird tics, the turns of phrase, the strange beginnings. Give me the writer in their natural habitat.”
Adrift
“In the early morning hours of May 28, 2021, a strange boat appeared in the Caribbean. As local fishermen approached, they made a grisly discovery: Everyone aboard it was dead.”

