“In America, whether we can swim — and whether we have access to water at all — is closely tied to race.”
Atlanta
Posted inEditor's Pick
Solastalgia
“Pleasant memories of places past: that’s nostalgia. But what do you call the grief that comes when the modern world leaves nary a trace of the place that raised you?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
When My Father Talked About Larry Bird
“The Boston Celtics legend was the north star of my youth, present in every debate and stretch of silence with my dad. This was true on the night when my world stopped, leaving me on a sidewalk seeing stars.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
André 3000 Is at Peace (For Now)
“One of the greatest rappers of our time in conversation with one of the most lauded culture writers alive on freedom, fame, flutes, and the burning question: ‘You gonna put some beats on that shit?’”
Posted inNonfiction
‘Stay Away From Him. He’s Dangerous.’
“For years, a mysterious figure preyed on gay men in Atlanta. People on the streets called him the Handcuff Man—but the police knew his real name.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
“In My Mind I Was Already Gone”: The Endless End of Outkast
“Twenty years after the release of ‘Speakerboxxx’/’The Love Below,’ we chart how the creation of André 3000 and Big Boi’s fifth studio album became the start of Outkast’s ending.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Journalism Is Struggling. In Atlanta, New Indie outlets Are Finding Ways to Make It Work
“Independent outlets are not only challenging revenue models—they’re changing the way local outlets approach journalism itself.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week’s edition highlights stories by Bench Ansfield, Justin A. Davis, Wright Thompson, Lucy Jones, and April Nowell.
Posted inEditor's Pick
How “The Shadow of State Abandonment” Fostered Then Foiled Young Thug’s YSL
“Atlanta’s YSL (Young Stoner Life) project has been about place-making as much as it’s been about making music. But what happens when the state interferes?”