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• Peter Rubin

The Troubling Disappearance of ‘El Gallito’

"A Rio Grande Valley murder case was botched and evidence lost by local police and by Texas Rangers. Will anyone ever be held responsible?"

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• Brendan Fitzgerald

Name of the Father

"A wiseguy's son steps out of his father's shadow—and into the boxing ring. But the legacy of organized crime isn't so easy to leave behind."

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• Cheri Lucas Rowlands

What If It All Came Out?

"We’re each attached to years of texts, searches, and photos, an archive of humiliation that could detonate at any time."

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• Longreads

The Cousin Returns

two-panel collage of photography of author Joseph Trinidad on left and "Lucky Creatures" book cover on right
On coming home to the Philippines.

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• Cheri Lucas Rowlands

‘You Killed the Car’

"A Ferrari and a distinctive Highland Park home combined for an iconic scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off."

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• Brendan Fitzgerald

The Conscience of the City

"On the life of a garbageman."

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• Krista Stevens

The Boeing 747 Begins Its Final Descent

"The jet was perhaps the pinnacle of American engineering excellence. Its retirement signals an end to an era of American culture—and ambition."

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• Carolyn Wells

It Was Britain’s Most Expensive House. Why is its Only Resident a Homeless Man Who Lives on the Porch?

"With many people desperate for secure housing, what does the abandonment of this palace tell us about the UK?"

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• Longreads

The Top Five Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Sloane Crosley; Zadie Smith; Mark Johnson and Saumya Khandelwal; Todd Kliman; and Sheila Liming.

sorry, this post is only available to Longreads members. To become a member, visit longreads.com/join.

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• Peter Rubin

Submitting to the Beast

"A father and son in New Orleans—feasting and flaneuring."

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• Brendan Fitzgerald

Thornton Wilder’s Last Play Vanished Into Thin Air. Or Did It?

"Decades after 'The Emporium' failed to open on Broadway in 1954, one man went on a quest to find it."

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• Cheri Lucas Rowlands

‘It’s More Like a Playlist’: Lavinia Spalding on Editing the Best Women’s Travel Writing

Solitary woman traveling on an open road
The editor of The Best Women's Travel Writing series on curation, grief and levity, and the stories she hopes to read more of in the future.

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• Krista Stevens

The Feeding

"My mom and I lived together for five years—the breast cancer years—until she died from the disease."

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• Carolyn Wells

Humans Killed Millions of Vultures. Now People Are Paying the Price.

"As vultures vanished, dogs multiplied, and rabies spread. Humans are living with the consequences."

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• Brendan Fitzgerald

In the Reality Lab

"Your body's data was only valuable once."

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• Seyward Darby

Anguished Parents, Crying Doctors: Life Amid Utah’s Measles Outbreak

"The state’s outbreak means adapting to America’s new reality, in which vaccine-preventable diseases become common again."

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• Krista Stevens

The End of Books

"What happened when a dumpster arrived behind my university's library."

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• Cheri Lucas Rowlands

For People with Misophonia, Everyday Noises Can Be Agony

"The neurophysiological disorder is characterized by a severe aversion to sound—and the struggle to convince others of the severity of that aversion."

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• Carolyn Wells

The True Story Behind the “El Cap Kindergartener” Ascent

"On May 22, a 7-year-old reached the summit of El Capitan. Why are so many climbers upset about it?"

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• Courtney E. Martin

Friction: A Reading List on Why Inconvenience Can Be Meaningful

Five stories that explore the risks and rewards of life's little hurdles.

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• Cheri Lucas Rowlands

The Last Straw

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

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• Brendan Fitzgerald

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."

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• Seyward Darby

The Paperboy’s Secret

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

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• Peter Rubin

Are Memories Transferable — or Edible?

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

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• Seyward Darby

The Inside Story of the Athens Music Scene

"How did the college football town spawn the B-52s, R.E.M., and Widespread Panic, to name just a few? The maestros and misfits who led Athens’s rise to one of the world's most influential and improbable music towns tell all."

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• Longreads

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Recommending notable stories by Wyatt Williams, John Leland, Jonathan Weiner, Suzy Hansen, and Max Ufberg.

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• Peter Rubin

How Three Chess Friends Battled Demons and Saved Two Lives

"A homeless chess hustler, a scholar and an aging recluse found hope in a trashed apartment by Central Park."

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• Brendan Fitzgerald

Art for Our Sakes

"Why should we go on making things?"

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• Cheri Lucas Rowlands

How Austin’s Sandlot Baseball Scene Became a Magnet for Indie Rockers, Filmmakers, Designers, and Brands 

"If you build it, they will come."

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• Carolyn Wells

The Rise and Rise of Balloon Racing’s First Family

"Joe Heartsill and his sons, Rhett and Lucas, are international eminences in a very obscure corner of professional sports."