This week, we’re sharing stories from Allie Conti, Joe Sexton and Nate Schweber, Alexander Chee, Nell Scovell, and Bee Wilson.
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Scamming Their Way to the Top of Hollow Mountan
How Southern California’s rich and famous tried to cheat to get their kids into college.
Gone Today, Here Tomorrow
In Xi Jinping’s China, “tens of thousands of people have disappeared into the maw of the police state,” including global movie star Fan Bingbing.
Ten Years Ago, I Called Out David Letterman. This Month, We Sat Down to Talk.
Comedy writer Nell Scovell — who quit her job on Late Night with David Letterman in 1990 after just five months because of sexism and “sexual favoritism,” and who called out Letterman in another Vanity Fair piece 10 years ago, following the revelation that he was cheating on his wife with various women who worked […]
Judge a Book Not By its Gender
Lisa Whittington-Hill suggests there’s a distinct gender bias in celebrity memoirs. Where female celebrities are expected to expose all, male writers get to write about whatever they want.
Longreads Best of 2020: All of Our No. 1 Story Picks
Here’s every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
Longreads Best of 2020: Essays
A small sampling of standout essays published this year.
Elizabeth Wurtzel Made it Okay to Write ‘Ouch’
Today’s memoirists and personal essay writers owe a debt of gratitude to the Prozac Nation author for rewriting an inhibiting rule.
The Man Who Would Be King
At nearly age 70, Charles is the “longest-waiting heir apparent in history.”
David Letterman Is Truly Sorry
Ten years after calling Letterman out for creating a hostile work environment for women, Nell Scovell gets to talk with him about it.

