“How a mind-altering, addictive substance was used as a weapon by one empire to subdue another.”
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These Highly Trained Rats Have Sniffed Out 150,000 Explosives
“The rats are fine: How once-overlooked animal skills are helping humans.”
10 Short Stories, The Power of Music, and Our Top 5
“I always admired how my father could play so delicately with such brutal hands. They were rough, mired with patches of psoriasis, calloused from playing the charango and the guitar, and scarred, scarred all over.” I have fond memories of playing the violin when I was a child, and over the years I’ve considered returning […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: ICE fighter, tectonic researcher, prairie preserver, regal grandmother, wild timekeeper.
The Elephant Who Could Be a Person
“In the courts, elephant personhood is a keystone argument, the argument on which all other animal-rights and even environmental arguments could conceivably depend.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Showcasing stories from Nicholas Hune-Brown, Nick Sturm, Samanth Subramanian, Kristin Idaszak, and Sy Safransky.
How to Fuel a Hike, What’s in a Name, and the Week’s Top 5
“What could it mean to give yourself the food you need to keep going? No punishing, no guilt, no withholding. Just nourishment.” Well hello, August! C’mon in and make yourself at home. This week, in addition to five stories chosen by the editors for our Top 5, we wanted to share two recent pieces with […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Viola Zhou, Mina Tavakoli, Stephanie Krzywonos, Maggie Millner, and Joe Hagan.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Showcasing stories from Eric McHenry, Michael W. Clune, Patrick Galbraith, Jay Miller, and Harley Rustad.
Dreaming of Water with Tiger Salamanders
“There is no more urgent form of communication than going extinct.”


