Fast Times on America’s Slowest Train
A surreal train ride between Chicago and New Orleans proves that Amtrak still has a lot to offer. (Not including speed or the food.)
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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Notable reads by Marco Giancotti, Jessica Davey-Quantick, Reeves Wiedman, Emily Fox Kaplan, and C Pam Zhang.
Imperial Eras: A Taylor Swift Studies Reading List
How Taylor Swift reflects every possible version of ourselves.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week we’re highlighting stories from Tom Lamont, Charlotte Alter, Dženana Vucic, John Paul Scotto, and Devin Friedman.
Editors’ Picks
Essays and Features
True Crime, Jersey Shore Style
How I (possibly) solved a cold case on my summer vacation.
I Remember Arthur
A writer examines his own depression and suicidal ideation after losing an enigmatic friend and a deeply personal book draft.
A Hand From One Page, A Bomb From Another: Rethinking “Spy vs. Spy”
The iconic comic seems simple at first glance, but its revolutionary sensibility has proven impossible to replicate.
Unknown Costs
Forty-three million Americans need substance addiction treatment, but only a tiny fraction receive it. We know why.
Into the Devil’s Jaw
How a a wrong turn led to the largest peacetime disaster in American naval history.
The Memory Picture
Being able to prepare for death is a complicated luxury.
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Reading Lists
Librarians on the Front Lines: A Reading List for Library Lovers and Realists
Increasingly, being a librarian is less and less about books and more and more about community survival.
The Parent Dilemma: Should I Have a Child?
Clare Egan doesn’t know if she wants kids. Will this reading list help?
Bomb the Multiplex: A ‘Barbenheimer’ Reading List
With people turning a shared release date into a meme-fueled double feature, we rounded up our favorite reads about 2023’s oddest duo.
Read ’Em and Weep: A Reading List for Criers
Grab your handkerchief and get ready for the waterworks.
Watch the Skies: A UFO Believers Reading List
Amid a new flurry of media coverage, we revisit some of our favorite stories about ufologists and close encounters.
Working on the Edge: A Reading List About Extreme Jobs
A livelihood is not a life—yet many risk the latter in order to create the former.
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