“When I found the mushroom Amanita muscaria being sold in candy wrappers, I uncovered legal loopholes, dangerous dosages and more.”
public health
Posted inEditor's Pick
Diabolical Motherhood
“How do you explain to someone who can’t get pregnant how powerful the omnipresent specter of pregnancy is? How the hyper-awareness of other people’s expectant entitlement toward your body dogs you through every day of your life?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Anguished Parents, Crying Doctors: Life Amid Utah’s Measles Outbreak
“The state’s outbreak means adapting to America’s new reality, in which vaccine-preventable diseases become common again.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
“You Are Always Just a Kiss Away From Me My Beautiful Boy.”
“Their family members vanished near Mass. Ave. They won’t stop searching.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
In Arizona, a Fight Against a Deadly Fungus Is Under Threat From Trump’s Health Policies
“What one doctor’s quest to stop valley fever says about America’s preparedness for climate-driven disease.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Charlotte Bailey, Hanif Abdurraqib, Taylar Dawn Stagnar, Patrick Madden, and Kevin Chroust.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Asbestos: A Corporate Coverup, a Public Health Catastrophe
“In the UK, thousands of people are still dying every year from exposure to the asbestos fibres in our homes, schools and workplaces. My dad was one of them.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Longevity Hot Spots That Weren’t
‘Our culture has become obsessed with “blue zones,” where people purportedly live longer. But does the underlying research stand up to scrutiny?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Inside the Bungled Bird Flu Response, Where Profits Collide With Public Health
“When dairy cows in Texas began falling ill with H5N1, alarmed veterinarians expected a fierce response to contain an outbreak with pandemic-sparking potential. Then politics—and, critics say, a key agency’s mandate to protect dairy-industry revenues—intervened.”