Deaths in donation bins, the Hardy boys, MAGA slop, billionaire playgrounds, and nostalgia for the complicated.
The New York Review of Books
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Hardy Men
“Why is a right-wing press reissuing century-old adolescent mystery novels?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
She Knows a Place
“For seven decades, the gospel singer Mavis Staples has troubled the opposition between chorus and soloist, background and lead.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Docteur Is In
“The Congolese rumba pioneer Docteur Nico helped define the sound of African decolonization—and became one of the great visionaries of the electric guitar.”
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
In this edition: Eschatolgy, Texas style; dancing like nobody’s watching; the men, they myths, the legends; monumental responses; and notes fit for a King.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Poisonous Objects
“Two exhibitions in Los Angeles respond to the racist monuments to Confederate soldiers that have been erected all over the United States.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Bang the Drumstick Slowly
“About 26 billion chickens occupy Earth, but apart from the lucky ones in backyards, most are condemned to the hellscape that is industrial farming.”
Posted inFeature
Best of 2025: The Stories You Missed
In a year of exceptional reading, these overlooked stories refused to let us go.
Posted inEditor's Pick
A Total Breakdown of All the Easter Eggs
“Major film studios embracing AI, newspapers announcing the death of moviegoing, critics devoid of values: all of this can instill a great sense of defeat. We have to write against it.”
Posted inFeature
A Year in Reading: Inward Journeys
Navigating a world in flux demands some understanding of who you really are, and some of my favorite pieces from this year speak to that need.