All the stories we’ve selected as number one in our weekly Top 5 newsletter.
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A Pact of Love (and Our Top 5)
“The soaring vermilion bridge is one of the first sights that most transplants tick off their must-see list, and Ashwini’s work took her all around San Francisco. Avoiding even a glimpse of it took effort. But Ashwini had made a promise to another woman 7,500 miles away: She would not see the bridge until they […]
The Power to Kill
When a prosecutor states that she won’t seek the death penalty in any cases, is she exercising prosecutorial judgement or abdicating it? Aramis Ayala and the state of Florida don’t agree.
The Big Bear Reading List
The elusive bear is a thing of fascination, and writers have a lot to say about them.
I’m Never Fine
“As a proponent of transparency, especially one who stands in opposition to the demonization of feeling, I can’t—I won’t—use the word anymore.”
Longreads Best of 2020: Investigative Reporting
Our top picks for investigative journalism this year.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Pamela Colloff, Jordan Smith, James Ross Gardner, Michelle Dowd, and Jaya Saxena.
Following the North Star
Shaheen Pasha explores how the trauma of a loved one’s incarceration unravels her carefully planned-out existence, and sets her on a new, unexpected path to find meaning in the meaningless.
Snapshot of Canada: An Accidental Reading List
An incomplete portrait of a nation emerges from a stash of old print magazines.
25 Movies and the Magazine Stories That Inspired Them
A selection of 25 successful article-to-film adaptations that made it all the way to the box office.


