I interviewed everyone present in the tactical operations center during a routine airstrike in Helmand Province. Without exception they believe themselves to be doing the right thing.
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The 25 Most Popular Longreads Exclusives of 2019
The original reporting, personal essays, columns, and collaborations that were our most-read stories of the year.
Longreads Best of 2019: All of Our No. 1 Story Picks
Our top picks of the year, all in one place.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Connie Bruck, San Francisco Chronicle Staff, Justin Heckert, Kent Babb, and Rob Harvilla.
Protecting the Unicorns Beneath the Sea: The Secret Seahorse Colony of Long Beach
“And if you’ve never seen a seahorse in the wild before, you will feel honored and awed, as if you’ve just seen a unicorn beneath the sea.”
Queens of Infamy: Njinga
The Portuguese colonizers of West Central Africa learned it the hard way: you mess with the Queen of Ndongo and Matamba at your own peril.
In Absentia
A meditation on the nature of grief, at a time when the whole world seems to be grieving.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Ben Taub, Paige Blankenbuehler, Alex Horton, Victoria Gannon, and Gustavo Arellano.
Zuckerberg’s Trash Is a Subculture’s Treasure
An entire subculture of Bay Area residents survives by reselling wealthy residents’ trash.
A Girl’s Guide to Missiles
A professor returns to the California military base where she grew up to make sense of her family’s role developing weapons for the US government.

