Tattoos

The ways memory, history, and identity are inscribed—on skin, in silence, and through generations.
by Aaron Rabinowitz
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Quieseeds

What if the key to understanding ourselves lies in the spaces between things—between words, between waves, between worlds?

by Christina Rivera

The Romance History Forgot

Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s doomed journey to the South Pole captivated the world. But hidden within the legend was a story that has never been told—a love affair between two of the crew who survived.

by Longreads

Weekly Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

This week we are featuring stories from Piper French, Jordan Blumetti, Zing Tsjeng, Ryan Cantú, and Luke Winkie.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Erika Hayasaki; A.C. Thompson, James Bandler, and Lukáš Diko; Lauren Smiley; Amanda Petrusich; and Liza Weisstuch.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Recommending notable stories by Kelley Engelbrecht, Sam Anderson, Lindsey Liles, Jeannette Cooperman, and Claire McNear.

Editors’ Picks

Ditch

M.D. McIntyre | The Sun Magazine | February 28, 2025 | 4,051 words

“He was always helping someone through something, even when he was barely holding on himself.”

Barnaby’s Futura Fantasy

Nicole Rudick | Broadcast | March 19, 2025 | 3,190 words

“In Crockett Johnson’s iconic comic strip, the type speaks for itself.”

A Diary of Gaza’s Destruction

Talat Qudaih | New Lines Magazine | March 14, 2025 | 4, 891 words

“A Palestinian poet chronicles the war raging around him.”

The Deaths—and Lives—of Two Sons

Yiyun Li | The New Yorker | March 23, 2025 | 8,293 words

“The truth is that however I choose to express myself will not live up to the weight of these facts: Vincent died, and then James died.”

Altadena: Four Stories

Myriam Gurba, Moriah Ulinskas, Carolyn Castaño, Merrill Feitell | Places Journal |March 27, 2025 | 2,763 words

For three weeks in January, the Eaton Fire raced through the small community of Altadena, California, destroying more than 9,000 buildings and killing seventeen people. Afterward, we invited four writers,…

The Biggest Loser

Luke Winkie | Slate | March 20, 2025 | 5,265 words

“He built an empire of men addicted to watching him lose enormous sums of money. In Las Vegas, I figured out why we can’t look away.”

The Machine in the Garden

Jordan Blumetti | Oxford American | March 18, 2025 | 13,793 words

“After decades of unchecked hazardous waste pollution, a Florida hamlet fights the developers eager to build homes there anyway.”

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Essays and Features

Her Greatest Hits

“Maybe it’s only when you don’t know what you are listening for that you find what you were waiting all along to discover.”
by Diane Mehta

The Genocide the World Ignored

Ayder Comprehensive Medical Hospital was the second largest in Ethiopia and the jewel of the Tigrayan health system—and for two horrific years, it became a war zone.
by Longreads

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Reading Lists

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All of our year-end lists, since 2011.

Favorite stories from across the web, picked by Longreads staff, guest curators, and readers.

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