BuzzFeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith recalls what it was like working as a young reporter in Belarus in 2001. One of his first major stories resulted in his source being beaten and thrown in jail — or so he thought, until he discovered the truth more than 15 years later.
essays
Posted inBooks, Essays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Rules for Departure
While hitching a ride to a week-long bike tour, Rachel Z. Arndt considers the rituals of leaving — and making a clean break.
Posted inBooks, Editor's Pick, Essays & Criticism, Nonfiction
Rules for Departure
While hitching a ride to a week-long bike tour, Rachel Z. Arndt considers the rituals of leaving — and making a clean break.
Posted inEditor's Pick
My Own Bad Story: I Thought Journalism Would Make a Hero Out of Me
In an essay from his new collection: Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country, Dear Sugars co-host Steve Almond considers his beginnings in journalism through the lens of the “bad stories” he believes delivered our country to the Trump era. Accompanied by a Longreads Podcast interview with Essays Editor Sari Botton.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Why I’m Suing Over My Dream Internship
Illgner was paid £30 a day for working nine-hour shifts as an intern at Monocle, a magazine based in London — well below the minimum wage. She’s suing for unpaid wages and asking her former employer to start paying its current and future interns the statutory national minimum wage.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, History, Story, Writing
This Is How They Saved Me
One month after her father was arrested, Neda Semnani and her family were taken on a dangerous journey to be smuggled out of Iran.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Unlearning Woody Allen
An essay of cultural criticism in which David Klion breaks down Woody Allen’s influence on the culture, romantic comedies, and Klion himself, and realizes the premises and attitudes in movies like Annie Hall and Manhattan aren’t so romantic after all.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Story, Uncategorized
The Month of Giving Dangerously
Elizabeth Greenwood decides to give everything: time, money, praise, forgiveness. But when does generosity become a mania for giving?
Posted inArts & Culture
Longreads Best of 2017: Under-Recognized Stories
Here are the best stories we thought deserved more attention this year.
Posted inUncategorized
The 25 Most Popular Longreads Exclusives of 2017
The personal essays, original reporting, and collaborations that were our most-read stories of the year.