A small sampling of standout essays published this year.
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On Course for Certain Disaster
“Ten Navy sailors were killed and scores more were injured. It was the Navy’s worst accident at sea in 40 years.” And it was all avoidable.
The Criminalization of the American Midwife
New York midwife Elizabeth Catlin faces 95 individual felony counts at her upcoming trial. For what? For doing her job. Politics and patriarchy make the work of many credentialed, experienced midwives illegal — to the detriment of women and underserved communities.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Lizzie Presser, Barbara Bradley Hagerty, S. Margot Finn, Darcy Frey, and Logan Hill.
Longreads Best of 2020: Sports and Games
With leagues across the world undergoing cancellations for much of the year, 2020 has been an interesting one in the world of sports. Here are some stories that resonated with us.
Elizabeth Wurtzel Made it Okay to Write ‘Ouch’
Today’s memoirists and personal essay writers owe a debt of gratitude to the Prozac Nation author for rewriting an inhibiting rule.
“Children Are Being Poisoned”: California Moms Lead the Way to Pesticide Ban
After years of work, activists got the state of California to ban the dangerous pesticide chlorpyrifos, which drifts widely through the state’s Central Valley. These activists are now taking aim at other chemicals and hope their grassroots coalition shows others how to battle the farmers and policy makers who act like human health is just […]
Naming the Psychological Effects of Climate Change: Solastalgia
“The word he came up with was solastalgia, a portmanteau word of the Latin solus, which means ‘abandonment and loneliness,’ and nostalgia.”
The latest Instagram influencer frontier? Medical promotions.
Health care and medical sponsored content from influencers is growing on Instagram. But is it ethical?
How Do You Get Help When No One Believes You?
“Asylum” technically means “a place of safety or refuge,” but that’s not now many psychiatric in-patients experience their time on psych wards.

