Longreads
@longreads.com
Sharing and publishing the best longform stories at longreads.com since 2009. Sister site of @atavist.com.
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Submit to us: https://longreads.com/submissions
Reposted by Longreads
The first excerpt for HANNIBAL LECTER: A LIFE is up today on @longreads.com! It digs into the mania that greeted The Silence of the Lambs" on opening weekend in 1991--and looks at how and why Hannibal Lecter instantly became America's most beloved bad guy: shorturl.at/8joEz
When Hannibal Lecter Took Over - Longreads
With "The Silence of the Lambs" hitting theaters, Orion wanted a hit. They didn't anticipate an antihero.
shorturl.at
January 29, 2026 at 5:32 PM
The first excerpt for HANNIBAL LECTER: A LIFE is up today on @longreads.com! It digs into the mania that greeted The Silence of the Lambs" on opening weekend in 1991--and looks at how and why Hannibal Lecter instantly became America's most beloved bad guy: shorturl.at/8joEz
"It's possible there's no ship big enough in the world that one wouldn't be a little bored." —Emily Stewart for Business Insider
www.businessinsider.com/cruise-hater...
www.businessinsider.com/cruise-hater...
I've always been a cruise hater. I took one anyway and it was…fine?
I've always been skeptical of cruises, but my boyfriend won a free one playing Tetris. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it, either. It just...was.
www.businessinsider.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:16 PM
"It's possible there's no ship big enough in the world that one wouldn't be a little bored." —Emily Stewart for Business Insider
www.businessinsider.com/cruise-hater...
www.businessinsider.com/cruise-hater...
Reposted by Longreads
Via @longreads.com which is one of the great survivors of The Good Internet and a fixture of my RSS feed reader:
longreads.com
longreads.com
Homepage - Longreads
Sharing the best nonfiction storytelling on the web since 2011.
longreads.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:49 AM
Via @longreads.com which is one of the great survivors of The Good Internet and a fixture of my RSS feed reader:
longreads.com
longreads.com
Congratulations to Longreads contributor @btrapperkeeper.bsky.social, whose autobiographical book "Range of Motion" has recently been published! The memoir returns to themes he explored in his Longreads essay, which is well worth revisiting.
You Robbie, You Baka - Longreads
On having a twin with cerebral palsy and navigating school bullies.
longreads.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:05 PM
Congratulations to Longreads contributor @btrapperkeeper.bsky.social, whose autobiographical book "Range of Motion" has recently been published! The memoir returns to themes he explored in his Longreads essay, which is well worth revisiting.
"I already know I will never have, that I shouldn’t have, and that I will desperately crave: the power to control the world around my daughter." —@travismandrews.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
www.washingtonpost.com
January 29, 2026 at 12:35 AM
"I already know I will never have, that I shouldn’t have, and that I will desperately crave: the power to control the world around my daughter." —@travismandrews.bsky.social for @washingtonpost.com
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
"Lying in the bed of that bare hotel room, he remained entirely focused on the anxiety and excitement of his first real job interview, scheduled for the next day. He still suspected nothing." —@agreenberg.bsky.social for @wired.com
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive
A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.
www.wired.com
January 28, 2026 at 8:16 PM
"Lying in the bed of that bare hotel room, he remained entirely focused on the anxiety and excitement of his first real job interview, scheduled for the next day. He still suspected nothing." —@agreenberg.bsky.social for @wired.com
"I convince myself one day that yes, the Lord God Bird exists and then, the next day, I squash all hope with an obliterative hammer. But there are other acts of conjuring." —J. Drew Lanham for @orionmagazine.bsky.social orionmagazine.org/article/lord...
Lord God Bird - Orion Magazine
Does the ivory-billed woodpecker still exist?
orionmagazine.org
January 28, 2026 at 7:07 PM
"I convince myself one day that yes, the Lord God Bird exists and then, the next day, I squash all hope with an obliterative hammer. But there are other acts of conjuring." —J. Drew Lanham for @orionmagazine.bsky.social orionmagazine.org/article/lord...
"Perhaps then, when we protect dark skies, we are actually providing a sanctuary for understanding, a place of refuge from artificial illumination where we can learn from the dark." @gabriel-furshong.bsky.social @earthislandjournal.bsky.social
www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
Why Dark Skies Matter
Losing self and finding sanctuary under Montana’s night sky.
www.earthisland.org
January 28, 2026 at 6:28 PM
"Perhaps then, when we protect dark skies, we are actually providing a sanctuary for understanding, a place of refuge from artificial illumination where we can learn from the dark." @gabriel-furshong.bsky.social @earthislandjournal.bsky.social
www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
www.earthisland.org/journal/inde...
"I obtained a video showing the system working live: as a victim enters their details, the information instantly appears on the phisher’s screen." —Fin Carter for Dispatch
dispatch-media.com/the-student-...
dispatch-media.com/the-student-...
The student behind a phishing empire
£100m stolen across Europe • Using tech supplied from a bedroom in Canterbury • How did Ollie Holman do it?
dispatch-media.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:42 PM
"I obtained a video showing the system working live: as a victim enters their details, the information instantly appears on the phisher’s screen." —Fin Carter for Dispatch
dispatch-media.com/the-student-...
dispatch-media.com/the-student-...
"We have already ceded our rockets and space stations to men with messiah complexes—and our wombs may be next."
Darshana Narayanan for @pioneerwork.bsky.social: pioneerworks.org/broadcast/ba...
Darshana Narayanan for @pioneerwork.bsky.social: pioneerworks.org/broadcast/ba...
Baby-Making on Mars | Broadcast
In the depths of the Cold War, scientists from the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. joined forces to answer a still-urgent question: Can mammals reproduce in space?
pioneerworks.org
January 27, 2026 at 8:05 PM
"We have already ceded our rockets and space stations to men with messiah complexes—and our wombs may be next."
Darshana Narayanan for @pioneerwork.bsky.social: pioneerworks.org/broadcast/ba...
Darshana Narayanan for @pioneerwork.bsky.social: pioneerworks.org/broadcast/ba...
"Words only ever do so much. But, time and again, Saunders’s words reveal their utility. They insist on our dignity, however and wherever they find us." Brendan Fitzgerald rounds up some essential George Saunders nonfiction, along with a few must-read interviews longreads.com/2026/01/27/g...
'Actually Really Sacred': A George Saunders Reading List - Longreads
Nine essays and interviews from literature's favorite laureate of compassion.
longreads.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:35 PM
"Words only ever do so much. But, time and again, Saunders’s words reveal their utility. They insist on our dignity, however and wherever they find us." Brendan Fitzgerald rounds up some essential George Saunders nonfiction, along with a few must-read interviews longreads.com/2026/01/27/g...
Today, @thebulletin.org moved its Doomsday Clock four seconds closer to midnight. As B.R. Cohen wrestled with our "derangement of scale," he spoke with an environmental scientist who has helped set the clock's hands
By All Measures - Longreads
Our problems are too vast, our distance from them too great. How do we navigate our derangement of scale?
longreads.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:34 PM
Today, @thebulletin.org moved its Doomsday Clock four seconds closer to midnight. As B.R. Cohen wrestled with our "derangement of scale," he spoke with an environmental scientist who has helped set the clock's hands
"Spawning on the Great Barrier Reef has been called the largest reproductive event on Earth, and, in more colorful terms, 'the world’s largest orgasm.'"
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4754...
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4754...
Australia is doing absolutely everything to the Great Barrier Reef — except the one thing that matters
An exclusive look inside the largest effort ever mounted to keep an iconic ecosystem alive.
www.vox.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:37 PM
"Spawning on the Great Barrier Reef has been called the largest reproductive event on Earth, and, in more colorful terms, 'the world’s largest orgasm.'"
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4754...
@benjij.bsky.social for @vox.com: www.vox.com/climate/4754...
"It is a woodwind consisting of a reed, a top joint, a bottom joint and a bell. More technically: It is torture." —Jesse Green for @nytimes.com
If You Think This Instrument Is Hard to Play, Try Building One
The oboe has 500 parts. Turning a profit is a killer. But Jim Phelan is bent on reviving one of the great names in classical music.
www.nytimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:20 PM
"It is a woodwind consisting of a reed, a top joint, a bottom joint and a bell. More technically: It is torture." —Jesse Green for @nytimes.com
In our Weekly Top 5:
* Gambling's grip @harpers.bsky.social
* Of plumes and poachers @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Bemoaning Americans in Rome @thedialmag.bsky.social
* Magical history tour @texasmonthly.bsky.social
* Fake poultry flinger @slate.com
longreads.com/2026/01/23/t...
* Gambling's grip @harpers.bsky.social
* Of plumes and poachers @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Bemoaning Americans in Rome @thedialmag.bsky.social
* Magical history tour @texasmonthly.bsky.social
* Fake poultry flinger @slate.com
longreads.com/2026/01/23/t...
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week - Longreads
In this edition: gambling's grip, a story of plumes and poachers, bemoaning American tourists in Rome, a magical history tour, and a fake poultry flinger.
longreads.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:49 PM
In our Weekly Top 5:
* Gambling's grip @harpers.bsky.social
* Of plumes and poachers @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Bemoaning Americans in Rome @thedialmag.bsky.social
* Magical history tour @texasmonthly.bsky.social
* Fake poultry flinger @slate.com
longreads.com/2026/01/23/t...
* Gambling's grip @harpers.bsky.social
* Of plumes and poachers @bittersouth.bsky.social
* Bemoaning Americans in Rome @thedialmag.bsky.social
* Magical history tour @texasmonthly.bsky.social
* Fake poultry flinger @slate.com
longreads.com/2026/01/23/t...
"We’ll never see the world, or even Bexar County, the same way, but I do love driving around Texas, especially with you." —Dorothy Guerrero and Stephen Harrigan for
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/...
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/...
Will Dad and I Ever See Texas the Same Way?
Decades after their last family road trip, a father and daughter with very different ideas about their home state get behind the wheel again.
www.texasmonthly.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:16 PM
"We’ll never see the world, or even Bexar County, the same way, but I do love driving around Texas, especially with you." —Dorothy Guerrero and Stephen Harrigan for
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/...
@texasmonthly.bsky.social
www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/...
"Green death appears to be a direct means of reducing, or even absolving, the guilt of contributing to anthropogenic climate change."
Hannah Gould and Georgina Robinson for @aeon.co: aeon.co/essays/dying...
Hannah Gould and Georgina Robinson for @aeon.co: aeon.co/essays/dying...
Dying to be green: are new eco funerals a false promise? | Aeon Essays
Many people today want to commit their remains to rejuvenating the planet. But are these green deaths just greenwashing?
aeon.co
January 21, 2026 at 7:12 PM
"Green death appears to be a direct means of reducing, or even absolving, the guilt of contributing to anthropogenic climate change."
Hannah Gould and Georgina Robinson for @aeon.co: aeon.co/essays/dying...
Hannah Gould and Georgina Robinson for @aeon.co: aeon.co/essays/dying...
"And why not a rubber chicken, America’s trusty totem of self-parody? It’s not as if I could beat the Earth’s best powerlifters, breath-holders, or yo-yo artists. Desperate times called for farcical measures." — @byardduncan.bsky.social for @slate.com
I Was Having a Millennial Midlife Crisis. Until I Picked Up the Most Unhinged Hobby Imaginable.
Desperate times called for farcical measures.
slate.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:35 PM
"And why not a rubber chicken, America’s trusty totem of self-parody? It’s not as if I could beat the Earth’s best powerlifters, breath-holders, or yo-yo artists. Desperate times called for farcical measures." — @byardduncan.bsky.social for @slate.com
"He was keenly aware that certain men wanted him dead, simply because his job was protecting local birds whose plumage had become more valuable than gold in the Gilded Age lust for exotic millinery." —Mike Kane for @bittersouth.bsky.social
bittersoutherner.com/issue-no12/p...
bittersoutherner.com/issue-no12/p...
Plume — THE BITTER SOUTHERNER
A Tale of Murder & Martyrdom in the Everglades
bittersoutherner.com
January 20, 2026 at 9:34 PM
"He was keenly aware that certain men wanted him dead, simply because his job was protecting local birds whose plumage had become more valuable than gold in the Gilded Age lust for exotic millinery." —Mike Kane for @bittersouth.bsky.social
bittersoutherner.com/issue-no12/p...
bittersoutherner.com/issue-no12/p...
"I often glance south, to where the huge cargo ships seem monumental and still, as if the arrangement were permanent, as if the vessels were knights and bishops resting on water as solid and stable as a chessboard." — @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social for Aperture
Richard Misrach on the Eerie Grandeur of Global Trade
Rebecca Solnit considers the photographer’s recent work tracing histories of shipping routes and their impact on the natural environment.
aperture.org
January 20, 2026 at 12:05 PM
"I often glance south, to where the huge cargo ships seem monumental and still, as if the arrangement were permanent, as if the vessels were knights and bishops resting on water as solid and stable as a chessboard." — @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social for Aperture
"Holst, Elgar, Ireland and Vaughan Williams all wrote for brass band, but rarely more than once." —Rachel Armitage for @lrb.co.uk
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Rachel Armitage · Diary: Brass Bands
Many brass bands were started by factory owners in the belief that music would give their workers purpose, strengthen...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 8:08 PM
"Holst, Elgar, Ireland and Vaughan Williams all wrote for brass band, but rarely more than once." —Rachel Armitage for @lrb.co.uk
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
"On another occasion, Suzy listened to her stepmother discuss how to make a prison shank." —Steven Kurutz for @nytimes.com
She Tried to Kill a President. He Loved Her Anyway.
A retired widower married Sara Jane Moore, who shot at President Ford in 1975. It tore his family apart.
www.nytimes.com
January 19, 2026 at 5:35 PM
"On another occasion, Suzy listened to her stepmother discuss how to make a prison shank." —Steven Kurutz for @nytimes.com
"Watching Gilmore Girls helps me remember what it felt like to have a man love me like I was his own daughter, even when he had no biological imperative to do so." —@peggycarouthers.bsky.social for @electricliterature.com
electricliterature.com/i-rewatch-gi...
electricliterature.com/i-rewatch-gi...
I Rewatch “Gilmore Girls” to Remember my Stepfather - Electric Literature
I find echoes of the man who raised me every time I watch the iconic mother-daughter show
electricliterature.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:42 PM
"Watching Gilmore Girls helps me remember what it felt like to have a man love me like I was his own daughter, even when he had no biological imperative to do so." —@peggycarouthers.bsky.social for @electricliterature.com
electricliterature.com/i-rewatch-gi...
electricliterature.com/i-rewatch-gi...
"By all appearances, the only thing ICE is screening for is a desire to work for ICE: a very specific kind of person perfectly suited for the kind of mission creep we are currently seeing."
@laurajedeed.bsky.social @slate.com
slate.com/news-and-pol...
@laurajedeed.bsky.social @slate.com
slate.com/news-and-pol...
You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.
slate.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:48 PM
"By all appearances, the only thing ICE is screening for is a desire to work for ICE: a very specific kind of person perfectly suited for the kind of mission creep we are currently seeing."
@laurajedeed.bsky.social @slate.com
slate.com/news-and-pol...
@laurajedeed.bsky.social @slate.com
slate.com/news-and-pol...
Reposted by Longreads
By All Measures. “Our scales are too imbalanced; we are unable to think the unthinkable. It goes without saying that it can be paralyzing, demoralizing, to be an individual acting as part of the collective, globe-sized world.” [longreads.com]
By All Measures - Longreads
Our problems are too vast, our distance from them too great. How do we navigate our derangement of scale?
longreads.com
January 15, 2026 at 9:24 PM
By All Measures. “Our scales are too imbalanced; we are unable to think the unthinkable. It goes without saying that it can be paralyzing, demoralizing, to be an individual acting as part of the collective, globe-sized world.” [longreads.com]