Our favorite stories of the week, featuring, Cincinnati magazine, The New Yorker, 5280 Magazine, Orion, and the Washingtonian.
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Posted inEditor's Pick
Brother from Another Mother
“It’s not all pathos, pathos, pathos. One sketch ponders the eternal question ‘What if names were farts?’” Zadie Smith spends time with Comedy Central stars Key & Peele.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
A Moment of Zen: Seven Stories Looking Back at Jon Stewart’s Fake-News Legacy
Tonight, Jon Stewart ends his 16-year run as host of “The Daily Show.” Here are seven stories looking back at how Stewart became the most influential fake-news anchor in the history of television.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
A Reading List for My 25-Year-Old Self
This list is a birthday gift to me and, I hope, of use to you, too.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
Revisiting the Vibrancy of Deaf Culture: A Reading List
Longreads to celebrate the vibrancy, history, and enduring presence of Deaf culture and its advocates.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
A Reading List for My 25-Year-Old Self
This list is a birthday gift to me and, I hope, of use to you, too.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Mysteries of Phil Hartman’s Creative Genius
Part of the reason Hartman remains fuzzy in our memories was his own doing. When he joined SNL’s cast in 1986, it was customary for a newcomer to declare he would be the next John Belushi. Hartman had a different ambition. He told the Los Angeles Times he wanted to be the next Dan Aykroyd. […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Joan Rivers: 1933-2014
Joan Rivers, comedy legend, has died at age 81. Three stories from the Longreads Archive: The Fresh Air Interview: Joan Rivers (Terry Gross, NPR) GROSS: So, like, that’s kind of a paradox to me that you live to be on stage and at the same time, there’s this dread of being on stage. Ms. RIVERS: […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Comedy and the Single Girl
An excerpt from Armstrong’s book Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted, on how Treva Silverman helped create TV’s most memorable characters: One night in 1964, Silverman was playing at a piano bar in Manhattan’s theater district—it was another one of those dark, smoky places, but this one had a well-tuned baby grand. She took […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Interview: Simon Rich on Guilt, Humor Writing, and Being the Worst Person Ever
An interview with humorist Simon Rich on comedy, writing stories for the New Yorker vs. writing sketches for SNL, and his new book Spoiled Brats.
