“Music was hazardous in my family, yet I couldn’t help playing—even in my sleep.”
Search results
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Dude Ranch Above the Sea
“Steely Dan conjured a sealed-in-amber studio perfection—a sound that could alienate listeners as easily as seduce them.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: the appeal of the surreal, decoding AI dreck, goop relations, learning to think, and pigeon racing pitfalls
Posted inEditor's Pick
Life and Death at the County Fair
“During annual pilgrimages to my hometown carnival, I never fail to find meaning among the doughnut burgers, feather boas, and iridescent dragons.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Rhythms of “Rock Creek Park”
“The Blackbyrds’ ode to DC inspired a new generation of artists.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Circling Story
“How can noticing seasonal changes be a radical act in a culture fixated with endless growth?”
Posted inNewsletter
A Fish Tale (and Our Top 5)
“My treasured memories, I’ve learned, are all subsidized by a massive Fish Industrial Complex—one that has taken a toll on all sorts of insects, invertebrates, frogs, and salamanders.” In the summer of 2014, Alex Brown went on a life-changing backpacking trip in the Colorado wilderness. On that trip, he caught 50 trout, keeping a few […]
Best of 2023
Our annual end-of-year collection compiling our favorite essays, investigations, features, and profiles of the year.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Coach’s Kid
“On defense Dad put me at linebacker, a position that allowed me to unleash some of the harmful energy I had previously aimed at myself.”
