Thailand is a top destination for gender confirmation surgery. Its success is a symptom of Western failure.
Search results
‘To Be Polite By Ignoring the Obvious’: Jess Row on Unpacking Whiteness in Literature
“I was looking for texts that seem to go the extra mile in hiding something — texts that almost seem to be begging to be interpreted in terms of what’s not being said.”
‘Nobody in This Book Is Going to Catch a Break’: Téa Obreht on “Inland”
‘The history of the West is a deeply turbulent one… that kept the living population in a constant state of unrest. I thought this constant state of unrest must be true for the dead as well.’
Finding Signs of Hope in Surprise Sugar Maples
In the midst of a pandemic, nature reminds Susan Krawitz that miracles are possible.
‘I Surprise Myself With This Refusal To Let Go’: Kate Zambreno on the ‘Ghostly Correspondence’
“I thought for sure, I’ll never write about Rilke again. I’m done with Rilke! I’m sick of Rilke! Rilke — no more. But then the other day … I just started researching something about Rilke.”
‘By Choice, and Not By Choice…Time Is Going To Change You.’
Nina MacLaughlin discusses her retelling of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. “[In] my very vague high school memories…there was no discussion of the fact that this book is just rape after rape after rape.”
This Week in Books: We’ve All Been Briefed
“They have washed their hands for you. / And they take the bus home.” —Jericho Brown
Doctors Without Patients: The Eritrean Physicians Stuck in American Licensing Limbo
“What was the whole point of your training if you cannot do something, even in a pandemic?”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Emily Bazelon, Alex Ronan, Justine Harman, Emily Harnett, and Sam Leith.

