Michael Musto argues that wearing rose-colored glasses always leads to an unfair distortion — looking back on the best of the past while comparing it to the worst of the present.
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Women Are Really, Really Mad Right Now
Rebecca Traister talks about the revolutionary power of women’s anger.
The Politics of UFOs
In the past few years the world of UFO “researchers” has been afflicted by the kinds of conspiratorial cracks that have appeared throughout American culture: Who can be trusted?
Born to Be Eaten
What’s at stake in the fight over development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge? A caribou herd, and a culture that relies on it.
Theatre of Wokeness
Are we having a surface-level reckoning?
Longreads Best of 2018: Business Writing
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in business writing.
Yes, We Could, But Can We Now? Reflections on Obama’s Speeches
Presidential speeches can motivate a people and set the national tenor. Oh, how we will miss them.
If the Rich Really Want To ‘Do Good,’ They Should Become Class Traitors Like FDR
“Winners Take All” is an indictment of the insular, Disneyfied world of Ted Talks, “thought leaders” and philanthropy as self-help for rich people. But does it go far enough?
How to Ruin the Scripps Spelling Bee in Four Letters: E-S-P-N
At the Scripps Spelling Bee, no one asks for whom the bell tolls. It’s glaringly, if painfully obvious.
The American Worth Ethic
Like so many of our lofty ideals, the “American Work Ethic” is actually two different standards — one for the wealthy and one for the poor — with two different interpretations of what work looks like.
