“Now I rarely let myself think of those Before Times. Describing what was once my life is like trying to recapture a sensation, a place that only ever existed in a dream.”
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Less Family, More Meal
“It’s a meal that is meant to be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of job title; when coworkers can break the proverbial (or sometimes actual) bread; when cooks can break free from the constraints of making menu dishes and throw together something of their choosing. A cook at a high-end Italian restaurant might be moved to […]
The Year Mahbuba Found Her Voice
“The young refugee from Afghanistan arrived on the doorstep of a Chicago school. She was deaf and had no previous exposure to formal sign language. What happened next was transformative.”
How to Exclaim!
The exclamation point attracts enormous (and undue) amounts of flak for its unabashed claim to presence in the name of emotion which some unkind souls interpret as egotistical attention-seeking.”
Why Some People Are Paying to Be Left on a Desert Island—Alone
“Since 2010, Docastaway has sent travelers to deserted islands with no training, no company, and few supplies. And business is booming.”
Parks and Degradation: The Mess at Yosemite
“Chemical spills, a ceiling collapse, indoor bears. Employees and park superfans blame the hospitality company Aramark.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories by Pamela Colloff, Jasper Craven, Omer Bartov, Judith Sanders, and Lale Arikoglu.
The Vegan Food Wars of DC
“A crew of innovator chefs and entrepreneurs have turned Washington into a hub of plant-forward dining. But they have all kinds of competing ideas about what meat-free fare should be.”
Will Northwest Seaweed Farming Finally Take Off?
In this piece from late 2020, Stefan Milne explores the incredible potential of kelp as “a tool to fight ocean acidification, feed the world, and restore Native food sovereignty.” One study estimated a “marine garden” the size of Washington state could provide enough protein to feed earth’s population, all while cleaning pollutants. He dove into […]
An American Girlhood in the Ozempic Era
“Adults are divided about giving children new drugs for weight loss. At 13, Maggie Ervie decided to take them.”

