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. *** Harriet Hardiman was ‘a cat’s meat man.’ That is, she went out most days with a handcart full of chopped meat on skewers […]
History
Posted inNonfiction, Story
Red, White, and Bruised
When Donald Trump and the GOP Convention arrive in Cleveland, they will find a city with a long history of violent outbursts, racial tension—and brushes with fascism. In short, the perfect stage for the 2016 presidential campaign. Kyle Swenson explores the history of his hometown.
Posted inBlog Post, Nonfiction
Beautiful Nowheres: ‘No Man’s Sky’ and the 500th Anniversary of ‘Utopia’
Five centuries after Thomas More’s classic was first published, we still dabble in perfect-world-building.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Death Penalty on Display
At The Texas Observer, Robin Ross writes on the rise of dark tourism — the macabre fascination with the Huntsville’s Texas Prison Museum — site of America’s first lethal injection.
Posted inEditor's Pick, Nonfiction, Quotes
The Death Penalty on Display
At The Texas Observer, Robin Ross writes on the rise of dark tourism — the macabre fascination with the Huntsville’s Texas Prison Museum — site of America’s first lethal injection.
Posted inNonfiction, Story
How the Emperor Became Human (and MacArthur Became Divine)
The end of divine rule in postwar Japan, and the absolute power of General MacArthur.
Posted inNonfiction
How the Emperor Became Human (and MacArthur Became Divine)
The end of divine rule in postwar Japan, and the absolute power of General MacArthur.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
There Once Was a Dildo in Nantucket
The curious quest to trace the history of a sex toy found in a 19th-century Quaker family home.
Posted inUncategorized
Using Technology to Fight the Power
In a new story for Wired, Bijan Stephen looks at how the Black Lives Matter movement uses social media to organize and fight for change. As Stephen writes, “any large social movement is shaped by the technology available to it,” tailoring their goals and tactics to the media of their time. For the nascent Black Lives Matter […]
Posted inBooks, Feature, Nonfiction
Atomic Summer: An Essay by Joni Tevis
Buddy Holly, John Wayne, and the A-Bomb.