Longreads

Brendan FitzgeraldJun 8, 2026

Losing Paradise

"As rising seas swallow Louisiana’s marshes, oil companies are pretending nothing has changed — and that now floatable, fishable waters remain their private property."

Cheri Lucas RowlandsJun 8, 2026

The Last Straw

"Inside the tiny community of English master thatchers, a fight is unfolding over a tradition that may not survive."

Are Memories Transferable — or Edible?

"In the 1960s, worm-training experiments and their strange implications captivated the nation."

Peter RubinJun 8, 2026

The Paperboy’s Secret

"In boyhood, guilt was a constant companion. I stopped mentioning the quarters that Mr. Wood put into my pocket."

Seyward DarbyJun 8, 2026

AutomatticAug 19, 20131 min read

Inside the Life of the Man Known as the 'Spark Ranger' - Longreads

The life and death of Roy Sullivan, a park ranger for Shenandoah National Park who was struck by lightning seven times: “A gentle rain fell on April 16, 1972. The Spark Ranger was in a small guardhouse atop Loft Mountain, registering carloads of visitors who were arriving at the campground. Not so much as a […]

AutomatticAug 18, 20131 min read

Murder by Craigslist - Longreads

A killer enlists the help of a high school student to target unemployed, middle-aged men by luring them with a job listing on Craigslist: “Jeff Schockling was sitting in his mother’s living room, watching Jeopardy, when he heard the doorbell. That alone was strange, as he’d later explain on the witness stand, because out there […]

AutomatticAug 18, 20131 min read

Surgeon Races to Save a Life in L.A.'s Shooting Season - Longreads

Inside an operating room at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center during L.A.’s “shooting season”: “The season of shootings has begun on time. Last year, from July through September, this Torrance hospital treated 107 gunshot victims, the highest number in the county. “This year, four GSWs — medical shorthand for gunshot wounds — arrived on the first day […]

AutomatticAug 17, 20131 min read

Body and Soul - Longreads

The writer recalls an accident that left his friend paralyzed. A memoir about friendship and disability: “‘You can move your leg!’ I said. When a nurse came in, I pointed. ‘That’s not a muscle spasm, right? He can move his leg.’ “The nurse looked at Dan, then shifted her gaze to the floor. She was […]

AutomatticAug 16, 20131 min read

Knight of the Swan - Longreads

The writer discovers a family secret: “The first time I heard about my father’s godfather was at a family dinner. We were in my grandmother’s dining room celebrating my father’s birthday. It was the usual ritual of slicing the cake with the silver triangle onto the square, flowered plates, passing each one to my grandmother […]

AutomatticAug 16, 20131 min read

The Notorious MSG’s Unlikely Formula For Success - Longreads

In 1968, an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine wondered if eating food in American Chinese food restaurants caused feelings of numbness and fatigue. Decades of research has shown little consensus on whether consumption of MSG is bad for us. How the MSG myth was born and propagated: “‘The Chinese food causes thirst,’ […]

AutomatticAug 16, 20131 min read

Wreckage - Longreads

After their teenage daughter is killed in a tragic accident, two grieving parents grapple with the events leading up to her death: “Inside, Jason realizes he’s been thrown into the backseat. He looks up at Taylor still strapped into the front, hair and shorts splashed with blood. Dustin is still buckled in the backseat. “The […]

AutomatticAug 15, 20131 min read

The Summer of Love and Newsweek - Longreads

The New Yorker’s Hendrik Hertzberg reflects on his early career working as a correspondent for Newsweek in San Francisco, covering Jefferson Airplane, Ronald Reagan and hippies: “If the S.F. music scene (I quickly learned that ‘Frisco’ was a no-no) was scarcely known outside the Bay Area, and neither was the larger cultural phenomenon it drew […]

The Killing Machines - Longreads

How do we live with drones during wartime—and then after it’s over? A look at the ethical and legal implications, and the realities of what advantages drones have given the U.S. in the battle against al-Qaeda: “Once the pursuit of al-Qaeda is defined as ‘law enforcement,’ ground assaults may be the only acceptable tactic under […]

Has Carl June Found a Key to Fighting Cancer? - Longreads

They once struggled for funding. Now, Carl June and researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are drawing attention for a trial that uses gene therapy—engineered T cells—to fight cancer: “In their natural state, T cells usually aren’t able to kill tumor cells, partly because they can’t latch on strongly enough. But June was fascinated by […]

LongreadsAug 14, 20131 min read

Longreads Member Pick: 'Quebrado,' by Jeff Sharlet - Longreads

This week, we’re excited to share a Member Pick from Jeff Sharlet, a professor at Dartmouth and bestselling author of The Family, C Street, and Sweet Heaven When I Die. “Quebrado” is a chapter from Sweet Heaven, first published in Rolling Stone in 2008, about Brad Will, a young American journalist and activist. Read an excerpt here. Become a Longreads Member to […]

I Was Not a Pretty Child - Longreads

Remembering what it was like to be ignored or mocked—and now, sometimes, being guilty of the same behavior: “Female friendships are more complicated. There are nuances and there’s competition and there are magazines and men in bars who talk to your friend and not to you. You cannot take everything at face value. Hyper-analysis is […]

Visiting The Maharaja - Longreads

The writer recalls a visit to the Maharaja of Travancore, and how difficult it is for him to say “no”: “But who among us hasn’t set off at one time or another–more likely many times–on these expeditions of presumed obligation, wondering, all the while, Why am I doing this? Why did I agree to do […]

The Jockey - Longreads

A multimedia story about a life dedicated to horse racing. Russell Baze, 55, is the winningest jockey in North American history. But few know his name—he stayed close to home in Northern California, where the purses are smaller and there are fewer opportunities to get into the big races: “Very few great horses come out […]

Taken: The Coldest Case Ever Solved - Longreads

In 1957, a 7-year-old girl named Maria Ridulph was kidnapped from her neighborhood in Sycamore, Ill. and later found murdered. No one was convicted of the crime until 55 years later when new evidence, some of it hearsay, was brought into a courtroom before a judge. An investigation into “the nation’s oldest cold case to […]

College Longreads Pick: 'Gym Class Heroes' by James Costanzo, Syracuse University - Longreads

Every week, Syracuse University professor Aileen Gallagher helps Longreads highlight the best of college journalism. This week’s pick comes from James Costanzo, who wrote this story for Syracuse University’s Vertical Floor.

Interview with My Mom, One Who Stayed Home - Longreads

After reading the New York Times Magazine story on women who “opted out,” Gay asks her mom about her own experience: “Sometimes when people talk about women and the workforce, they say a woman cannot truly be equal to a man unless she has her own income. What do you think? “Well. Equality. What a […]

AutomatticAug 12, 20131 min read

The Poorest Rich Kids in the World - Longreads

Georgia and Patterson are teenage heirs to the $1 billion Duke family fortune—the same Dukes who controlled the American tobacco market and established Duke University. But they were also raised by drug addicts who neglected and abused them for years: “Georgia and Patterson survived a gilded childhood that was also a horror story of Dickensian […]

LongreadsAug 12, 20132 min read

Playlist: 5 Podcast Episodes on the History of Hip-Hop - Longreads

Gabrielle Gantz (@contextual_life) is the blogger behind The Contextual Life, a frequent longreader, and a fan of podcasts. 1. How Hip-Hop Works (Stuff You Should Know, 52:13) In this episode of Stuff You Should Know, hosts Chuck and Josh discuss the history of hip-hop, from The Sugar Hill Gang to the present. They add their own […]

AutomatticAug 12, 20131 min read

Merchants of Meth: How Big Pharma Keeps the Cooks in Business - Longreads

Lawmakers in states across the country have been fighting to make pseudoephedrine—an ingredient found in over-the-counter medicine like Sudafed used to make methamphetamine—a prescription drug to reduce the number of meth labs being built. Few states have succeeded to match the lobbying power of drug manufacturers, while those that have have seen results: “Pharma companies […]