“After a year of seismic developments in the pop star’s real-life soap opera, a Broadway show set to her music—with a rise-up tale about a posse of princesses who become feminists—is set to debut.”
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Kerry Howley, Suzanne Cope, Micheli Oliver, Jeff Mao, and Rob Brunner.
Black and Blue in Cleveland
Both of Wilbert L. Cooper’s parents were cops. In this excerpt from his memoir, Cooper recounts how his mother got into the force—and what the department did to try to keep her out.
Manic Street Preachers’ Album The Holy Bible
How a band seemingly out of step with its times outlasted so many of its indulgent, in-step contemporaries.
Into the Darkness
Germany’s Black Forest faces a future of transformation. So do the people who have lived there for centuries.
Remembering Scott Walker
When the pop singer went avant garde, he traded narrative meaning for emotional truth to explore those things that lay beyond language.
Only Shooting Stars Break the Mold: The Massive Musical Footprint of ‘Shrek’
““Shrek was the first animated picture to have, in its dialogue and in its music, pop references,” says Marylata Elton, Shrek’s music supervisor. “What ended up [happening] is that Shrek became pop culture itself.””
Bread and Honey
Sometimes, marriage is about learning how to braid the bitter with the sweet.
‘Play Another Slow Jam, This Time Make It Sweet’
The term “slow jam” became widely popular when a song performed by Midnight Star debuted in 1983.
Best of 2022: All of our No. 5 Story Picks
All the stories we’ve selected as number five in our weekly Top 5 newsletter.

