This week, we’re sharing stories from David Enrich, Megan Stielstra, Natalie Weiner, Mark Leviton and Tressie McMillan Cottom, and Amanda Fortini.
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Kevin Ellison’s Final Journey
A troubled ex-USC football star died at 31. His family hoped that studying his brain for CTE would help others
‘The Fledglings Are Out!’
“Peering in, I see that last week’s eggs are now chicks. Tiny bright-yellow beaks, mouths opening and closing silently. This is the magic.”
Longreads Best of 2019: Sports Writing
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in sports writing.
Be a Good Sport
Competitive sports can mean professional and financial success — if they don’t compromise your mental health first. ‘Cheer’ and ‘Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez’ show how athletics can hurt as much as they can heal.
Finding a Path in a Broken System
Thailand is a top destination for gender confirmation surgery. Its success is a symptom of Western failure.
Almost Undefeated: The Forgotten Football Upset of 1976
How the Toledo Troopers, the most dominant female football team of all time, met their match.
Place: The Loop, Houston
“Houstonians call I-610 the Loop. It divides the city into two parts: inside the Loop and outside the Loop. The city circumference is marked by Beltway 8, the last buffer before you hit the suburbs. When I was a kid, I lived a neighborhood cluster beyond Beltway 8, west of the city. If you want […]
What Hockey Gives and What Hockey Takes Away
Hockey is good for the heart and soul, but treacherous for the brain.

