• Support Us
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Features
  • Reading Lists
  • Shortreads
  • Best of
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr
Skip to content
  • Editors’ Picks
  • Features
  • Reading Lists
  • Shortreads
  • Best of
Longreads

Longreads

Longreads : The best longform stories on the web

  • Support Us
Support Us

Playboy

A man sitting in profile against a lilac-colored background, wearing a well-tailored pinstripe suit. He also has a giant plastic head in place of his actual head, and is giving a thumbs-up gesture to the camera.
Posted inReading List

Pawns, Puppet Heads, and Paranoia: An Eccentrics Reading List

by Chris Wheatley January 31, 2023January 30, 2023

“They’re a little eccentric” is a phrase I suspect most of us have heard used to describe a certain kind of memorable person. For me, it evokes my childhood dentist — an elderly man who favored colorful bow ties and humming loudly as he worked, and who once wagged his finger in my face and […]

Posted inEditor's Pick

‘A Felony Just to Own’: The Sleazy Story Behind Penthouse’s Most Controversial Issue

by Carolyn Wells September 16, 2020October 19, 2022

“Peter Bloch, Penthouse‘s then-executive editor: “It was the best-selling issue of Penthouse of all time. Hands down. A complete sellout in, like, two days. You couldn’t get a copy. So there were guys paying—and this is something I saw with my own eyes—a dollar for a peek. A peek!””

Posted inArts & Culture, Blog Post, Nonfiction, Writing

The Genius of the Playboy Interview

by Matt Giles September 29, 2017October 19, 2022

Dedicated research and hours of interviews crafted the gold-standard of pre-access celebrity journalism.

Posted inArts & Culture, History, Unapologetic Women

The Examination of a Playboy Bunny

by mlegro September 28, 2017October 19, 2022

When Gloria Steinem applied for a job as a Bunny in 1963, she was told she first had to see a doctor.

Posted inEditor's Pick

I Was a 9-Year-Old Playboy Bunny

by Sari Botton September 6, 2017October 19, 2022

A personal essay in which Shannon Lell recalls discovering her father’s porn collection when she was 9.  Looking back on her childhood longing to be a sex-symbol,  she grapples with a lifetime of self-objectification.

Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story, Unapologetic Women

I Was a 9-Year-Old Playboy Bunny

by Shannon Kavanaugh September 6, 2017October 19, 2022

After longing to be a sex-symbol as a child, Shannon Lell grapples with a lifetime of self-objectification.

Posted inEditor's Pick, Essays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Unapologetic Women

I Was a 9-Year-Old Playboy Bunny

by Shannon Kavanaugh September 6, 2017October 19, 2022

After longing to be a sex-symbol as a child, Shannon Lell grapples with a lifetime of self-objectification.

Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

by Longreads December 26, 2014October 19, 2022

Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. * * *

Posted inNonfiction, Quotes

Stephen Colbert on the Nature of Grieving

by heymarkarms June 25, 2014October 19, 2022

PLAYBOY: It’s been almost four decades since it happened. Does the grief dissipate? COLBERT: No. It’s not as keen. Well, it’s not as present, how about that? It’s just as keen but not as present. But it will always accept the invitation. Grief will always accept the invitation to appear. It’s got plenty of time […]

Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

by Longreads February 21, 2014October 19, 2022

Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle and Readmill users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox.

Posts navigation

1 2 Older posts
Longreads
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr
  • Home
  • About
  • Membership
  • FAQ
  • Submissions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice for California Users
  • Press
  • RSS Feed
  • Opt-out preferences

Part of the

family

© 2023 Longreads. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic Privacy Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}