For 13 years, police failed to scrutinize the man now accused of the infamous murders. Why did it take so long?
longreads
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Violent Murder, a Child on Death Row
“Paula Cooper was 15 when she murdered 77-year-old Ruth Pelke in her Indiana home, and was sentenced to death. But a campaign for her life came from an unexpected quarter.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Days of the Jackal
How Andrew Wylie turned serious literature into big business.
Posted inReading List
The Soundtrack of Our Lives: A Reading List on Pop Concerts
It’s been a huge year for live music, so let’s take a tour.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Last Lighthouse Keeper in America
“In a technological age, impassioned devotees renew an ancient maritime tradition.”
Posted inReading List
Buon Appetito: A Reading List on Italian Food
Six stories to challenge your assumptions about one of the world’s most iconic cuisines.
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Reads from Zefyr Lisowski, David Gessner, Susie Cagle, Brendan I. Koerner, and Athena Aktipis and Coltan Scrivner.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Evolutionary Reasons We Are Drawn to Horror Movies and Haunted Houses
“Scary play lets people—and other animals—rehearse coping skills for disturbing challenges in the real world.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Lurker
“The obsessive tormentor who made professors’ lives miserable
It didn’t matter if she knew you — if you were a professor and Asian American, you were a potential target.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Watch This Guy Work, and You’ll Finally Understand the TikTok Era
“The creator economy is fragmented and chaotic. Talent manager Ursus Magana can (almost) make sense of it, with a frenetic formula for gaming the algorithms.”