Was It really about a murderous clown, or was it about our ability to forget the horrors of the past?
Books
Posted inEditor's Pick
In 1971, the People Didn’t Just March on Washington — They Shut It Down
The most influential large-scale political action of the ’60s was actually in 1971, and you’ve never heard of it. It was called the Mayday action, and it provides invaluable lessons for today.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Empathy and Escapism — Obama’s Secret to Surviving the White House Years: Books
At The New York Times, Michiko Kakutani reports on how reading and writing helped President Obama to “slow down and get perspective” from novelists, memoirists, and historical figures during the eight years of his presidency.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Obama’s Secret to Surviving the White House Years: Books
A profile of Barack Obama as a reader, which includes a link to Kakutani’s 3,015-word interview with the outgoing president. He discusses his love for reading, some authors he loves–plus short stories he’s written.
Posted inNonfiction, Profiles & Interviews, Story
A Conversation With Dan Ariely About What Shapes our Motivations
Dan Ariely on building an understanding of how humans behave from the ground up.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Moment Jon Stewart’s ‘Daily Show’ Changed Course
The internal battles and the decisions Jon Stewart made after taking over The Daily Show from Craig Kilborn.
Posted inBlog Post, Fiction
The Notebooks of Harriet The Spy
Black Cardigan is a great newsletter by writer-editor Carrie Frye, who shares dispatches from her reading life. We’re thrilled to share some of them on Longreads. Go here to sign up for her latest updates. *** A few months ago, my friend Maud was in town from New York, and one afternoon I met her and her stepdaughter at a […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
What ‘The Art of the Deal”s Ghostwriter Learned About the Real Donald Trump
In the 1980s, a New York magazine writer named Tony Schwartz wrote a critical cover story about Donald Trump’s aggressive business tactics as a real estate developer. Much to his surprise, Trump loved the article—and he recruited Schwartz to ghost write a memoir about his success in business. The result, The Art of the Deal, became […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
A Conversation in the Margins
What they don’t tell you about death—or what you don’t really understand until it happens close to you—is how permanent it is. In the months afterward I kept thinking to myself, all right, I get it. This is too painful. Let’s just take a little break from the loss. Let’s have a weekend off. A […]
Posted inFirst Chapters, Nonfiction
One Man’s Quest For His Vinyl and His Past
Motivated by seller’s regret and nostalgia, a journalist goes in search of the vinyl of his youth. And not just copies of albums he loved—he wants the exact records he owned and sold.