“When I say I miss Hong Kong, what I mean is the city as I remember it between the years of 2014 and 2019.” Karen Cheung reflects on the transformation of her home city. It wasn’t only that we could not see our future a few years down the line — say, whether we could […]
pandemic
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Hustler at the End of the World
In the early days of the pandemic, Hiam Kaplan tried to move massive amounts of PPE for money. But, as Amanda Chicago Lewis writes in this story about supply chain hustling, he found so much more. It’s been a humbling time to be a hustler. After thousands of hours of work, through all his pandemic […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
Love, COVID, and Other Risks
Throughout the pandemic, Emma Healey and her immunocompromised partner — a liver transplant recipient — have constantly weighed and navigated day-to-day risks. As Toronto opens up, making decisions have become even more confusing. In this essay, Healey reflects on health, risk, and love. We are all making our decisions the same way—with one eye on […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Pandemic Tragedy in Guayaquil
In this harrowing read for The New Yorker, Daniel Alarcón paints a grim picture of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, which endured one of the world’s most lethal outbreaks of COVID-19. In Guayaquil, on any given day before the pandemic, there might have been thirty to fifty people whose deaths had to be accounted for, whose […]
Posted inHighlight, Nonfiction, Reading List
Charting Worlds: Five Longreads About Maps
From fantasylands to unique cartographers (including one that’s non-human), here are five stories about maps.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Story
For the Love of Wordle: A Reading List on Puzzles and Games
Seven longreads on the communal pastime of puzzles, games, and crosswords.
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘My Sincere Condolences’
Inside the struggles and heartaches of FEMA’s massive COVID funeral assistance program.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Caught Between New Tech Money and a Growing Homelessness Crisis, Restaurants on One Street in Venice, California, Are Trying to Keep Its Identity Alive
“There were an estimated 1,900 unhoused people living in Venice, and Rose Avenue was the nexus of that community.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Without Paid Leave, the South’s COVID School Policies Cause a Terrible Trickle Down for Families
“Schools are at the epicenter of local and state COVID-19 protocols, using families—and children—as political bargaining chips.”