“Though we were only a few miles into our walk, already the surprise of my surroundings was overwhelming. The surreal lakebeds. The pink skies. Beauty Peak. The pronghorn. We were left in one of those mindless trances that comes when nature completely engulfs you. No amount of planning or research can prepare you for an […]
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The Meaning of Tattoos and Our Top 5 of the Week
“When my father-in-law was growing up in Baltimore and misbehaved in Hebrew school with his friends, their teachers would calmly unbutton their cuffs and roll up their sleeves, revealing their tattoos from Auschwitz. I’ve seen worse, the tattoos said. Or perhaps, This could happen to you.” What does your tattoo mean? It’s a question often asked of […]
Remember the Titans: An ‘Attack on Titan’ Reading List
The influential anime didn’t just upend kaiju tropes—it delivered an unsettling look at imperialism and hubris.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week’s edition highlights stories by Chris Walker, Katie Prout, Tim Requarth, Michael Schulman, and Celia Bell.
A banger of a Christmas story, best of 2023, and more
“I have enjoyed many happy Christmases and plenty of disappointing ones, like the one I spent eating alone at a Waffle House due to an ice storm, or the Christmas my father accused all the unmarried relatives of being gay. But of all the sad Yuletides of my life, the one I spent guarding $100,000 […]
Inside the World of Nigerian “Yahoo Boys”
Could Carlos Barragán find the person who conned his mother?
The Universe, T-Swift, and This Week’s Top 5
“Growing up it was drilled in me that no word should touch the ground. Words are to be revered no matter what those words might mean. Once my Nana insisted my entire room be reorganized because my bookshelf was stationed such that when I went to bed the backs of my feet faced the books […]
Kingdom of Funga: A Mycelial Reading List on a Strange and Surreal World Around Us
Seven stories celebrating the mystery and power of fungi.
All Work and No Play
“Video games, like any creative product, reflect and refract the conditions of their production. Today, what they most resemble is twenty-first-century work.”
Best of 2023: All of Our Number Five Story Picks
Each story we chose as our number five piece of the week in 2023, all in one place.


