“It’s an especially American paradox: a ruthlessly meritocratic system where men nonetheless live to pull each other up by their bootstraps.”
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Posted inTop 5
Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Human ingenuity in the face of crumbling infrastructure. One man’s quest to save a bird that might already be extinct. The cultural schism dividing a major musical genre. A personal essay braiding space and family. And a jungle trek gone horribly, horribly awry. These are our editors’ favorite reads of the week. 1. The Balkans’ […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Laughing With the Pain
“You wouldn’t do the kinds of things that happen in a Jackass film in front of just anyone. The most ideal way to endure those kinds of pain is with those you feel the closest to.”
Posted inNewsletter
Album as Poem, List as Confession, and Our Top 5
We may often think of poetry as something formal or grand, or meant for the pages of a book. But these two essays remind us that poetry lives in many places.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Legend of The Music Tree
What is so special about a particular tree harvested from a forest in Belize? Ellen Ruppel Shell finds out in this meticulous essay. But then, there it was: a Paul Bunyan–size log, wedged deep in a gully and covered in undergrowth. In an instant, Novak knew this tree was truly extraordinary. But he had no […]
Posted inFeature
A Year in Reading: When the Going Gets Tough
These are the stories I couldn’t stop thinking about—the ones that ask us to sit with darkness and still find reasons to keep going.
Posted inEditor's Pick
When My Father Talked About Larry Bird
“The Boston Celtics legend was the north star of my youth, present in every debate and stretch of silence with my dad. This was true on the night when my world stopped, leaving me on a sidewalk seeing stars.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Violin Doctor
“He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to unlock the sound of a Stradivarius?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Jesus Christ is Born in Texas
“70,000 believers arrive at the Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas to witness America’s greatest Christmas pageant.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Confessions of a Conscious Rap Fan
Mychal Denzel Smith’s musical upbringing sounds a lot like mine: copious amounts of hip-hop that was deemed “underground,” “backpack,” or (perhaps most conspicuously brandished) “conscious.” Elitism disguised as authenticity. Yet, with the recent returns of Black Star and Kendrick Lamar, Smith found himself unmoved — and in this crystalline essay, he unpacks exactly why. The […]
