We like to think Longreads furnishes more than simply emergency reading, and that’s certainly true this week.
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Posted inEditor's Pick
The Grammar of Exile
A writer tells the story of teaching English to asylum-seekers in Rome, and meditates on the different “grammars” a person must learn when they’ve fled their home in search of a new life: The guys understood what, where, how, and when. But why, the word itself, stopped us dead. Not every language has its equivalent. (Italian, French, and Arabic use […]
Posted inEssays & Criticism
Poets in the Machine
Why does the literary world still hold online writing at arm’s length?
Posted inFeature
Best of 2025: The Stories You Missed
In a year of exceptional reading, these overlooked stories refused to let us go.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Out-of-Control Spread of Crowd-Control Tech
“Broken bones. Eye trauma. Brain injuries. How America’s sketchy “less-lethal” weapons industry exports its insidious brand of violence around the world.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re highlighting stories by Meagan Gillmore, Teju Cole, Maureen Ryan, Katie Baker, and Imogen West-Knights.
Posted inQuestionnaire
The Longreads Questionnaire, Featuring R. O. Kwon
The author of The Incendiaries and Exhibit on the bed as refuge, the power of movement and exercise, a life of writing, and more.
Posted inFeature
Best of 2024: The Stories You Missed
It’s been a busy year: Here are some noteworthy pieces that may have passed you by.
Posted inUncategorized
Interspecies Communication, An Ultra-Incredible Recovery, and Our Top 5
“From the mycelial ‘wood wide web’ to smart slime molds and political honeybees, science is demonstrating that humans don’t monopolize language or intelligence.” With advancements in artificial intelligence, scientists are learning more about the ways non-human species communicate with each other—and how they might communicate with us. In this week’s new reading list, “Wild Talk,” Sam […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Google Engineer who Thinks the Company’s AI Has Come to Life
Has Google’s artificial intelligent chatbot LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) achieved sentience? While Google says no, engineer Blake Lemoine says yes. Lemoine said that people have a right to shape technology that might significantly affect their lives. “I think this technology is going to be amazing. I think it’s going to benefit everyone. But […]
