“Throughout the Middle East, the versatile fruit has been revered since antiquity. How will it fare in a changing world?”
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories by Michael Lewis, Patricia Wen, Ted Chiang, Katie Thornton, and Sarah Smarsh.
The Ancient Potato of the Future
“The Four Corners potato has sustained Indigenous people in the American Southwest for 11,000 years; USDA is now studying its 8-year shelf life, and its resistance to disease, heat, and drought. The future of this remarkable little potato remains unwritten.”
Into the Darkness
Germany’s Black Forest faces a future of transformation. So do the people who have lived there for centuries.
The Joy of Sweat and the Week’s Top 5
“To move in spin class only for the sake of moving, of the joyful challenge itself, of sweating and pushing and dancing, is cool water in my throat. To be loved, simply for showing up, is pure golden sun in my chest.” Happy Friday and welcome to (unofficial) autumn! If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere […]
A Q&A with Julian Brave NoiseCat, a Journey Into a Fabled Forest, and Our Top 5
We learn a lot as we move along; if we’re lucky, we might shed some old wisdom for better understanding.
There Has Been Blood
“For more than five decades, the Thai palm oil industry has been marred by rampant exploitation, violence, and corporate greed. Thailand is the world’s No. 3 producer of palm oil.”
Well Without Water
Haunted by a running tap in prison, a man grows obsessed with water waste and climate change, pushing him to the edge.
How Your Cup of Coffee Is Clearing the Jungle
“However it happened, anywhere between 20,000 and 130,000 people — estimates range wildly — are farming illegally within Bukit Barisan Selatan.”
Inequality’s Deadly Toll
“A century of research has demonstrated how poverty and discrimination drive disease. Can COVID push science to finally address the issue?”


