Featuring stories from Margaret Talbot, Wiam El-Tamami, Virginia Heffernan, Dave Denison, and Meilan Solly.
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Screen Memories
“Screenshots are also proof of memory — proof that I was there, online at a moment in time.”
30 Years Later: Phyllis Hyman, “I Refuse to Be Lonely”
The singer’s first posthumous album deserves to be remembered as the bravest of her career.
A Soundtrack for Longing, What Museums Reveal, and Our Top 5
“I most love a city I can describe to you by sound or song. Landmarks created via sonic moments, rather than the fleeting nature of architecture.” —Hanif Abdurraqib Welcome to the weekend! I want to thank all the readers who have recently signed up for a Longreads membership. Members will continue to receive this Top […]
Holograms of the Holocaust (and Our Top 5)
“Over many decades, my grandmother gave responses to thousands of questions, wrote tens of thousands of words, and spoke for hours and hours while tapes rolled. She would be, in other words, the perfect candidate for AI reanimation.” In my household, the transition from summer to fall has been tough. Lately, to help my daughter […]
The Rise of Women Butchers, Six Reads on the Single Life, and Our Top 5
“But I’m the only woman in the classroom, and it has become absolutely essential that I do not gag. Although the number of women apprentices had been creeping up over the years, from the get-go, as a woman studying butchery, I am still a novelty.” Food writer and chef Olivia Potts, the author of “Life […]
A Friend Named Arthur and The Week’s Top 5
“But now I like to imagine him in Paris, sitting at a café, drinking an espresso, his notebook open, full of notes and poetry. It’s easy to picture in my mind. He’d look perfect there.” Four years ago, Kevin Sampsell lost his friend Arthur to suicide. He started writing about him three years ago—but the […]
Detectives at Work and the Week’s Top 5
“Ronald was my mother’s uncle, a fashion designer who fled Texas for New York at 19. I met him only once. In my memory, we are sitting on the front porch, the hairs standing up on my arms as the sun wanes. His head is bent over a piece of paper, sketching my 7-year-old face. […]
A Year in Reading: Backrooms, Backcountry, and Back Home
From two side of the world—these are the stories shining a light on the overlooked corners often holding the pieces together.
A Year in Reading: A Shift in Perspective
The stories that sparked awe and made me think differently in 2024.


