“After Zac Brettler mysteriously plummeted into the Thames, his grieving parents discovered that he’d been posing as an oligarch’s son. Would the police help them solve the puzzle of his death?”
The New Yorker
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Recommending reads from David A. Taylor, Rebecca Solnit, Nicholas Russell, D.T. Max, and Jori Lewis.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Birth of My Daughter, the Death of My Marriage
“Being an adult meant watching many possible versions of yourself whittle into just one.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Woman Who Spent Five Hundred Days in a Cave
“Beatriz Flamini liked to be alone so much that she decided to live underground—and pursue a world record. The experience was gruelling and surreal.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
How a Script Doctor Found His Own Voice
“For decades, Scott Frank earned up to three hundred thousand dollars a week rewriting other people’s screenplays. Finally, he decided to stop playing ventriloquist.”
Posted inTop 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring standout stories by Michael Hall, Sarah Aziza, Ferris Jabr, Adrian Nathan West, and Kyle Chayka.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Coming of Age at the Dawn of the Social Internet
“Online platforms allowed me to cultivate a freer version of myself. Then the digital world began to close off.”
Posted inFeature
Ten Outstanding Short Stories to Read in 2024
For the tenth year in a row, we’re kicking off the reading year with a set of short stories hand-picked by longtime contributor Pravesh Bhardwaj.
Posted inCuration
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week features pieces from Sabrina Imbler, Natan Last, Lulu Miller and John Megahan, Casey Cep, and David Grimm.
Posted inEditor's Pick
How the Poet Christian Wiman Keeps His Faith
“Pushpin-specific lists fill his essays; single, stirring images lift from lines of his poems like the pages of a pop-up book.”