“A series of small collapses is how they come to be radicalized.”
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Happy Birthday to Us, and the Week’s Top 5
“The anxiety of hunger settled under my ribs like the feeling you get when you’re about to burst into tears. The hum of the refrigerator alone was enough to make me want to bury my head in the backyard. I often dreamt of donuts, and once, of my sister-in-law’s mother, a tenacious Serbian woman, bringing […]
The Legendary Band Who Got the Beat (and Our Top 5)
“They were both powerful images that the bands chose themselves, which subverted the idea of how women should market their music. There was also the idea that the women wanted to conceal themselves, whether with face masks or mud, to keep a part hidden, especially from a music industry that wanted women to reveal themselves, […]
Best of 2022: Reported Essays
Our list of some of the great reported essays published this year includes reads on grief, veganism, the geology of Mexico City, and British real estate.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Nick Roberts and Rosa Amanda Tuirán, Carroll Bogert and Lynnell Hancock, Kiese Makeba Laymon, Alicia Kennedy, and Kitty Kelley.
‘You Could Literally See Our Shit From Space’: The Broken Bowels of Beirut
Beirut’s disintegrating sewage system and corrupt politics have put its residents in a shitty situation.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Aaron Gell, Donovan X. Ramsey, Hannah L. Drake, E. Alex Jung, and Lina Mounzer.
Best of 2024: All Our Number Five Story Picks
Every story that appeared in the number five slot in our Weekly Top 5, all in one place.
Best of 2025: All Our Number Five Story Picks
Every story we selected for the number five slot in our weekly newsletter, in a handy digest.
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.


