To early Chinese Communists, if you couldn’t stand spicy food, you weren’t equipped to fight for the revolution. Science suggests this association between strength, risk and Maoists might have to do with the chemical interactions between the chili pepper, culture and certain personality types.
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Posted inArts & Culture, Essays & Criticism, Feature, Story, Writing
Find Yourself
From way back in ’80s Philadelphia, Elizabeth Isadora Gold remembers her first writing teacher, the mail art artist/lyricist Stu Horn.
Posted inArts & Culture, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes
When Media Miscalculations Pivot Talented People Out of a Job
Pivoting to video is only one of many ways media workers lose their jobs, but it’s still a horrible way.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Inside the black (cherry) market of vintage Kool-Aid packet collectors
“When you’re in the mood for Kool-Aid, you can walk into a grocery store and chose from about 20 different flavor packets all priced at about a quarter a piece. However, if you’re in the market for some quintessentially classic, high-grade, “Oh Yeah!”-era Kool-Aid, you’ll have to enter the fruit-flavored underbelly of one the most […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Food of My Youth
“When my media stream fills with the sound of children crying out for their parents, that distinct wail that only a broken-hearted child can make… it’s then that I reach for the food of my youth. Corned-beef hash. Spam. Fried Bologna sandwiches.”
Posted inHighlight, Nonfiction, Quote Posts, Quotes, Science & Nature
The Vital and Surprising Role of Driftwood
Driftwood provides the necessary habitat and shelter that feeds a raft of marine life all the way up the food chain.
Posted inCommentary, Current Events, Discussions, Podcasts
Editor’s Roundtable: Just Put Some Eyes On There (Podcast)
Longreads editors discuss stories in Grub Street, The New Yorker, Gay Magazine, and The Verge.
Posted inNonfiction
Finding Signs of Hope in Surprise Sugar Maples
In the midst of a pandemic, nature reminds Susan Krawitz that miracles are possible.
Posted inStory
‘I’m Incredulous That People Do This Repeatedly. The Second Book Thing Is So Real.’
Mary H.K. Choi discusses her latest novel, which examines how “holograms and digital envoys” represent us online, and why it feels like her “second book signals the death of my first.”
Posted inNonfiction
Queens of Infamy: Boudicca
If you underestimate a woman determined to avenge violence against her daughters, prepare yourself to get sacked. On repeat.
