This is the story of the last day of 17-year-old Quanice Hayes’s life. It involves a police department that says they have no good way of deciphering between real guns and fake ones, and a family still searching for answers.
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Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Cyberchondria: D.I.Y. Diagnosis in Overdrive
In researching his chronic headache on the web, veteran journalist Barry Newman takes a terrifying walk down the Via Dolorosa of digital self-diagnosis.
Posted inCrime, Nonfiction
The Third Life of Richard Miles
Richard Miles spent 15 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The state of Texas compensated Miles for his wrongful conviction, but life after vindication has come with its own set of challenges.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Our top stories of the week, as chosen by the editors at Longreads.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction
My Grandfather’s Fateful Goodbye, Reimagined
Karissa Chen tries to reconstruct the moment her grandfather, at 19, left Shanghai for Taiwan on a supposed vacation—a decision that would alter his life forever.
Posted inEditor's Pick, Essays & Criticism, Feature, Nonfiction
In a Swimming Pool, Learning to Trust
A swimming instructor for ten years, Matt Grant learned the most from his most challenging student.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Harnessing His Superpowers for Peace in the Middle East
As an 8-year-old with OCD, Howard Lovy hoped his magical thinking might persuade God to end the Yom Kippur War.
Posted inArts & Culture, Nonfiction, Story
American Sphinx
Civil War monuments in the North erased an emancipated Black population. But the Sphinx looked to a new world: an integrated Africa and America.
Posted inBusiness & Tech, History, Nonfiction
My Journey to the Heart of the FOIA Request
Fifty years ago, the Freedom of Information Act gave the public access to government secrets — all you had to do was ask. How a simple request became a bureaucratic nightmare.
Posted inCrime, Nonfiction, Story
The Third Life of Richard Miles
Richard Miles spent 15 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. The state of Texas compensated Miles for his wrongful conviction, but life after vindication has come with its own set of challenges.
