In a recent blog post for The Atlantic, David Zweig spoke with wayfinding expert and airport-sign designer Jim Harding about his work on the world’s busiest airport, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson. According to Hartfield, the highest mark of success in Harding’s work is invisibility: if his job is perfectly executed, “you will never think of him or his work.” In Harding’s work, no […]
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Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
What Lawyers Have In Common With Auto Mechanics and Dentists
Because of its complexity, Hadfield points out, legal help is what economists call a “credence good”—a good “provided by an expert who also determines a buyer’s needs” because the buyer is “unable to assess how much of the good or service they need; nor can they assess whether or not the service was performed or […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Ta-Nehisi Coates Calls for Reparations, and a 'Spiritual Renewal' for America
We must imagine a new country. Reparations—by which I mean the full acceptance of our collective biography and its consequences—is the price we must pay to see ourselves squarely. The recovering alcoholic may well have to live with his illness for the rest of his life. But at least he is not living a drunken […]
Posted inReading List
Dating in the 21st Century: A Reading List
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 1. “Love Me Tinder.” (Emily Witt, GQ, January 2014) The denizens of Tinder in all their weird, wild, witty glory. 2. “Dating While Trans: The Doldrums.” (Audrey Arndt, The Toast, May 2014) For a long time, Audrey openly described herself as transgender in her OKCupid profile. 3. “Forever Single: DATING […]
Posted inNonfiction, Top 5
Top 5 Longreads of the Week: Jan. 3, 2014
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle and Readmill users, you can also save them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive the Top 5 Longreads email every Friday.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
On Grieving: ‘If you think you’re doing okay, then you’re doing okay’
“Bonanno doesn’t pretend that smiling is a magical elixir or that laughing will cure the hardest-suffering patients. Grief isn’t a single track, he’s found, but a long private journey that splits along three rough paths. Ten percent of us experience ‘chronic’ and relentless grief that demands counseling. Another third or so plunges into deep sadness […]
Posted inUncategorized
Longreads Guest Pick: Kristen Majewski on 'How Meditation Works'
Kristen Majewski is the social media editor of Prevention.com. My pick for this week is ‘How Meditation Works,’ by Liz Kulze, in The Atlantic. Meditation is often dismissed as New Age and hokey, but Kulze does a wonderful job of making mindful meditation an accessible notion and perhaps even a necessary one. She is absolutely […]
Posted inUncategorized
Longreads Guest Pick: Elise Foley on 'The Girl Who Turned to Bone'
Elise Foley is an immigration and politics reporter for The Huffington Post. “My favorite longread this week was Carl Zimmer’s ‘The Girl Who Turned to Bone’ in the Atlantic, which is about a very rare disease that causes people to form a second skeleton. It reminded me, in a great way, of ‘The Hazards of […]
Posted inUncategorized
Longreads Is Joining Forces with The Atlantic
We have some big news to share today: Longreads is teaming up with The Atlantic, in a partnership that will allow us to expand our site and membership model—and continue to serve this community of readers, writers and publishers. When I first started the #longreads hashtag four years ago, The Atlantic was one of the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Longreads Is Joining Forces with The Atlantic
We have some big news to share today: Longreads is teaming up with The Atlantic, in a partnership that will allow us to expand our site and membership model—and continue to serve this community of readers, writers and publishers. When I first started the #longreads hashtag four years ago, The Atlantic was one of the […]