“Filmmakers use a character’s grief to evoke viewers’ sympathy and cravings for a quick fix. The Christmas widower trope exploits these very human tendencies, triggering sadness for the sake of sadness and making the cheap promise of a neat resolution tied up in a pretty bow.” We hope you enjoyed last week’s story, “Christmas on […]
Search results
Her Greatest Hits
“Maybe it’s only when you don’t know what you are listening for that you find what you were waiting all along to discover.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending stories from Lizzie Presser, Richard Smith, Drew Magary, David Fowler, and Douglas Starr.
Getting Sober Again
Natalie Lima recounts relapsing during the pandemic, halting two years of sobriety with cheap vodka in “less than the length of a song.” At Catapult, she shares the winding path of her recovery and what she missed most during her seven-month relapse. What I missed most, during this relapse, was my writing practice—a pursuit that […]
The Grammar of Exile
A writer tells the story of teaching English to asylum-seekers in Rome, and meditates on the different “grammars” a person must learn when they’ve fled their home in search of a new life: The guys understood what, where, how, and when. But why, the word itself, stopped us dead. Not every language has its equivalent. (Italian, French, and Arabic use […]
New York City on Fire (and Our Top 5)
“As with the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, for instance, the lead-up to the arson campaign on November 25, 1864, was long, ugly, and both actively and tacitly encouraged by powerful men.” Hello, Friday! To help kick off your weekend, we’ve rounded up some reads for you. Our first recommendation, from […]
Life and Love in the Utah Desert
Learning lessons about love while living in a 1961 Artcraft mobile home in Moab, Utah.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we’re highlighting stories from Tom Lamont, Charlotte Alter, Dženana Vucic, John Paul Scotto, and Devin Friedman.
A Butcher Shop Visit and Our Top 5
“More tellingly still, on the block in front of me are half a dozen dead pheasants. This is the butchery department, deep in the bowels of Waltham Forest College in North East London, UK, where I am the only female student.” For those who celebrate, Easter weekend can mean a big ol’ roast dinner. Some […]
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week’s edition highlights stories by Megan Greenwell, Kerry Howley, Jeremy B. Jones, Marian Bull, and Ava Kofman.


