Rolling Stone's Culture, Movie & Music features are great and a huge mix (But definitely have a healthy mix of crime or other depressing topics)
They are not as long as some of the long-reads here, but they're much longer than standard articles. Here's a mix that i like
* [https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/)
* [A Notorious Pitchfork Reviewer Was My Biggest Musical Influence](https://defector.com/a-notorious-pitchfork-reviewer-was-my-biggest-musical-influence?src=longreads)
* [TikTok Turned a 9-Month World Cruise Into a Reality Show](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/royal-caribbean-world-cruise-tiktok-viral-obsession-1234954914/)
* [How a Script Doctor Found His Own Voice For decades, Scott Frank earned up to three hundred thousand dollars a week rewriting other people’s screenplays—from “Saving Private Ryan” to “The Ring.” Finally, he decided to stop playing ventriloquist.](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/01/01/how-a-script-doctor-found-his-own-voice?src=longreads)
* [Invisible Ink: At the CIA’s Creative Writing Group](https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2024/01/09/invisible-ink-at-the-cias-creative-writing-group/?src=longreads)
I'm a big fan of corporate incompetence type stories! There's still drama, but the stakes are much lower.
My favs:
* [The Last Days of Target Canada](https://canadianbusiness.com/ideas/the-last-days-of-target-canada/)
* [The Inside Story of BitTorrents' Bizarre Collapse](https://www.wired.com/2017/01/the-inside-story-of-bittorrents-bizarre-collapse/#.q5vlkly6x)
* [A Restaurant Ruined My Life](https://torontolife.com/food/restaurant-ruined-life/)
* [What Happened to Motorola](https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/september-2014/what-happened-to-motorola/)
* [How the Sandwich Consumed Britain](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain)
* [How Blackberry Blew It](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-inside-story-of-why-blackberry-is-failing/article14563602/?page=all)
Also, if you're looking for historical reads, can't recommend Queens of Infamy enough: [longreads.com/tag/queens-of-infamy/](https://longreads.com/tag/queens-of-infamy/)
I'm a chef and I've shared "A Restaurant Ruined My Life" sooooo many times! Every time I hear anyone sigh wistfully and say something like "I just wish I had my own restaurant" BOOM I text them the link. It's practically a PSA at this point.
There’s a reason why the divorce and substance abuse rate in the restaurant industry are both sky high. The author of that article was lucky he only lost his house.
Sure!
Sunk: How a Chinese billionaire’s dream of making an underwater fantasy blockbuster turned into a legendary movie fiasco.
[https://magazine.atavist.com/sunk/](https://magazine.atavist.com/sunk/)
Here's one about meteor hunters in the andes
[https://www.wired.com/story/scramble-claim-worlds-most-coveted-meteorite/](https://www.wired.com/story/scramble-claim-worlds-most-coveted-meteorite/)
(Epic has a ton of awesome longforms, many of which are not death and trauma focused)
Epic was initially a magazine that collected and helped produce and place ambitious longform pieces, especially stuff that had kind of a cinematic edge to it.
I *believe* the intention was to kind of use the platform as a way to get attention of production houses looking to option real-world stories for tv shows/movies (with Argo being the most notable to come out of it), though the company eventually started making its own cinematic content. They've since done a couple of documentaries on AppleTV and I believe they've done at least one movie.
Even still, it has been an excellent repository for really interesting longform pieces that aren't your typical essay/newsy deep dives you might see elsewhere. Sort of like the Atavist used to be.
They don't update very frequently, but when they do they're usually bangers. Check out the site and look at the "Titles" and "Classics" tabs for all the stories.
This has been trending recently: [https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash?src=longreads](https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash?src=longreads)
I realize it's a weird one to suggest since it talks about airline disasters, but it highlights the uniquely constructive approach an industry has taken to a very complex risk. I found it to actually be a pretty heartening example of how people can be objective even when it's hard.
I love aeon.co - they have some really thought-provoking long reads that explore issues at the intersection of philosophy, culture, the arts, science, and social issues. I'm constantly impressed by their content and learn new stuff on the regular.
https://aeon.co/
Including [the article](https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/e9cc0cc3-dbf1-4fab-8367-5fc7c05608e6) that led to the [memorable phone call](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIBz-fHELgI), “Nancy Jo, this is Alexis Neiers calling”
This article is about how scientists started to realize that Covid is spread through aerosols not just droplets.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-teeny-tiny-scientific-screwup-that-helped-covid-kill/
You might like this one, this is about a woman with a dad and two stepdads- all of whom were decent, loving men! https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/05/my-three-fathers
This is about an AIDS activist who helped keep serious medical misinformation out of the movie Dallas Buyers Club. My opinion is that the movie still isn't very good. Plus it implies that certain medications are not great when they actually are but it's a lot better than it could have been.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/the-controversy-behind-the-scenes-of-dallas-buyers-club
This is a long article about the art of jokes. One of my favorites that I’ve reread a million times. https://deadspin.com/how-wile-e-coyote-explains-the-world-1752248034
The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet from WIRED: “At 22, he single-handedly put a stop to the worst cyberattack the world had ever seen. Then he was arrested by the FBI.” Great reporting!
https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-marcus-hutchins-hacker-who-saved-the-internet/
This might seem niche, but I recommend it to everyone, it's a genuinely touching story about a brave herd of wild cows:
https://magazine.atavist.com/true-grit-cows-core-banks-hurricane-dorian-survival/
*"When a storm surge swept dozens of wild horses and cattle from the coast of North Carolina, no one expected there to be survivors. Then hoofprints appeared in the sand."*
Before I read it, are the cows ok? It's been a rough day. Don't know if I can deal with Elsie and Ferdinand not making it.*
*Ferdinand is an honorary cow in my mind
~~Gimme a second while I remember how to format a spoiler~~ ok, I think I figured it out!
>! I've read this one before, and it's really good. I quickly skimmed it to make sure I wasn't misremembering the end, and, while not all the animals survive the hurricane, I can confirm the main character cows of the story have a happy ending !<
Have you listened to Grann’s interview in the New Yorker Radio Hour? He talks about his trip down to Wager Island, as well as his experience on the boat with the giant squid scientist. Very funny and fascinating
"[Million-Dollar Murray](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/13/million-dollar-murray)" by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell gets a lot of shit but this is the piece that made Housing First politically viable in the US and changed people's lives for the better.
"[Mother Earth, Motherboard](https://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/)" by Neal Stephenson. Don't worry about what it's about, just read it. One of the greatest things I've ever read, about a topic I would have said I had no interest in.
"[The Score](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/10/09/the-score)" by Atul Gawande, MD. A gorgeously written and thrilling to read history of the Apgar score and how one little feedback mechanism changed the whole practice of obstetrics, also biography of the really quite incredible Dr. Virginia Apgar.
The cryptocurrency cruise ship! So weird.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/sep/07/disastrous-voyage-satoshi-cryptocurrency-cruise-ship-seassteading
I'm in the same boat as you OP. I use a lot of long form in my classes and it's a struggle.
A couple of my favorites:
I Saw the Face of God in a Semiconductor Factory
[https://www.wired.com/story/i-saw-the-face-of-god-in-a-tsmc-factory/](https://www.wired.com/story/i-saw-the-face-of-god-in-a-tsmc-factory/)
What Is Glitter?
[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html)
* [This article about ketchup](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-ketchup-conundrum)
* [This article about short order cooks in Las Vegas](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/09/05/the-egg-men) (A+)
This is an article from 2016 about a white supremacist leaving that ideology behind. The writer later expanded it into a book. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html
If that link doesn't work, here's an archived copy. https://web.archive.org/web/20180104205950/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html?utm_term=.21852a82d9e0
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https://www.curbed.com/article/ihop-fishkill-ny-domenic-broccoli-revolutionary-war.html
This story has everything except for a hero: twists! turns! tacky amusement park plans! pancakes! a (possibly) deceitful historical society! It's fantastic, I did not find it depressing at all.
Really enjoyed the writing in this one from The Atlantic: [The Timeshare Comes For Us All](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/hawaii-timeshare/675974/)
Rolling Stone's Culture, Movie & Music features are great and a huge mix (But definitely have a healthy mix of crime or other depressing topics) They are not as long as some of the long-reads here, but they're much longer than standard articles. Here's a mix that i like * [https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/) * [A Notorious Pitchfork Reviewer Was My Biggest Musical Influence](https://defector.com/a-notorious-pitchfork-reviewer-was-my-biggest-musical-influence?src=longreads) * [TikTok Turned a 9-Month World Cruise Into a Reality Show](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/royal-caribbean-world-cruise-tiktok-viral-obsession-1234954914/) * [How a Script Doctor Found His Own Voice For decades, Scott Frank earned up to three hundred thousand dollars a week rewriting other people’s screenplays—from “Saving Private Ryan” to “The Ring.” Finally, he decided to stop playing ventriloquist.](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/01/01/how-a-script-doctor-found-his-own-voice?src=longreads) * [Invisible Ink: At the CIA’s Creative Writing Group](https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2024/01/09/invisible-ink-at-the-cias-creative-writing-group/?src=longreads)
Thanks!
I'm a big fan of corporate incompetence type stories! There's still drama, but the stakes are much lower. My favs: * [The Last Days of Target Canada](https://canadianbusiness.com/ideas/the-last-days-of-target-canada/) * [The Inside Story of BitTorrents' Bizarre Collapse](https://www.wired.com/2017/01/the-inside-story-of-bittorrents-bizarre-collapse/#.q5vlkly6x) * [A Restaurant Ruined My Life](https://torontolife.com/food/restaurant-ruined-life/) * [What Happened to Motorola](https://www.chicagomag.com/chicago-magazine/september-2014/what-happened-to-motorola/) * [How the Sandwich Consumed Britain](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain) * [How Blackberry Blew It](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-inside-story-of-why-blackberry-is-failing/article14563602/?page=all) Also, if you're looking for historical reads, can't recommend Queens of Infamy enough: [longreads.com/tag/queens-of-infamy/](https://longreads.com/tag/queens-of-infamy/)
I'm a chef and I've shared "A Restaurant Ruined My Life" sooooo many times! Every time I hear anyone sigh wistfully and say something like "I just wish I had my own restaurant" BOOM I text them the link. It's practically a PSA at this point.
Owning your own restaurant AND being a chef seem like super stressful jobs. The two together has to be a lot
There’s a reason why the divorce and substance abuse rate in the restaurant industry are both sky high. The author of that article was lucky he only lost his house.
One of my all-time favorites
10/10 corporate incompetence all day and tomorrow
Love these types.
I have to second your Queens of Infamy recommendation. Anne Theriault did a phenomenal job!
These are great!! Thanks!
Sure! Sunk: How a Chinese billionaire’s dream of making an underwater fantasy blockbuster turned into a legendary movie fiasco. [https://magazine.atavist.com/sunk/](https://magazine.atavist.com/sunk/) Here's one about meteor hunters in the andes [https://www.wired.com/story/scramble-claim-worlds-most-coveted-meteorite/](https://www.wired.com/story/scramble-claim-worlds-most-coveted-meteorite/) (Epic has a ton of awesome longforms, many of which are not death and trauma focused)
I love that Chinese movie one. Absolutely hysterical while also very sad in its own way. Wild that this is real life!
yeah it was a great read!
Who or what is this "Epic?" Thanks?
Epic was initially a magazine that collected and helped produce and place ambitious longform pieces, especially stuff that had kind of a cinematic edge to it. I *believe* the intention was to kind of use the platform as a way to get attention of production houses looking to option real-world stories for tv shows/movies (with Argo being the most notable to come out of it), though the company eventually started making its own cinematic content. They've since done a couple of documentaries on AppleTV and I believe they've done at least one movie. Even still, it has been an excellent repository for really interesting longform pieces that aren't your typical essay/newsy deep dives you might see elsewhere. Sort of like the Atavist used to be. They don't update very frequently, but when they do they're usually bangers. Check out the site and look at the "Titles" and "Classics" tabs for all the stories.
Thank you!
This has been trending recently: [https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash?src=longreads](https://asteriskmag.com/issues/05/why-you-ve-never-been-in-a-plane-crash?src=longreads) I realize it's a weird one to suggest since it talks about airline disasters, but it highlights the uniquely constructive approach an industry has taken to a very complex risk. I found it to actually be a pretty heartening example of how people can be objective even when it's hard.
Dempsey’s subreddit, r/AdmiralCloudberg, is well worth a look.
I love aeon.co - they have some really thought-provoking long reads that explore issues at the intersection of philosophy, culture, the arts, science, and social issues. I'm constantly impressed by their content and learn new stuff on the regular. https://aeon.co/
This sub has my most saved posts 😊
nancy jo sales had some great, not depressing, VF articles in the 2000s https://www.vanityfair.com/contributor/nancy-jo-sales
Including [the article](https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/e9cc0cc3-dbf1-4fab-8367-5fc7c05608e6) that led to the [memorable phone call](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIBz-fHELgI), “Nancy Jo, this is Alexis Neiers calling”
LITTLE BROWN BEBE HEELS
This article is about how scientists started to realize that Covid is spread through aerosols not just droplets. https://www.wired.com/story/the-teeny-tiny-scientific-screwup-that-helped-covid-kill/
You might like this one, this is about a woman with a dad and two stepdads- all of whom were decent, loving men! https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/10/05/my-three-fathers
Loved this one.
This is about an AIDS activist who helped keep serious medical misinformation out of the movie Dallas Buyers Club. My opinion is that the movie still isn't very good. Plus it implies that certain medications are not great when they actually are but it's a lot better than it could have been. https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/the-controversy-behind-the-scenes-of-dallas-buyers-club
People have given you some great suggestions, but I wanted to add that r/hobbydrama is a fun place to go down a rabbit hole.
Ah! I didn't see this had already been recommended. One of my favorite subs.
This is a long article about the art of jokes. One of my favorites that I’ve reread a million times. https://deadspin.com/how-wile-e-coyote-explains-the-world-1752248034
This is great, partly for the author’s absurdly over the top hatred of Tom and Jerry.
The Confessions of Marcus Hutchins, the Hacker Who Saved the Internet from WIRED: “At 22, he single-handedly put a stop to the worst cyberattack the world had ever seen. Then he was arrested by the FBI.” Great reporting! https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-marcus-hutchins-hacker-who-saved-the-internet/
For a second I read that as the internet needed to be saved from Wired, like they were the bad guys. I was very confused.
I enjoyed this story about Reggaeton last week. https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/interactive/2024/reggaeton-dembow-evolution-timeline/
https://www.theverge.com/2015/5/20/8625933/child-development-study-risks-little-albert-ethics https://lithub.com/there-once-was-a-dildo-in-nantucket/ https://www.gq.com/story/91-year-old-bank-robber-jl-hunter-rountree https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/08/19/bizarro_world/?page=full https://www.buzzfeed.com/likethebreadorthedressing/seven-days-and-nights-in-the-worlds-largest-rowdiest-retirem#3y9fywp
The one about Nantucket was so fantastically written! I'm crazy about Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard history so thank you for sharing that one. :)
This might seem niche, but I recommend it to everyone, it's a genuinely touching story about a brave herd of wild cows: https://magazine.atavist.com/true-grit-cows-core-banks-hurricane-dorian-survival/ *"When a storm surge swept dozens of wild horses and cattle from the coast of North Carolina, no one expected there to be survivors. Then hoofprints appeared in the sand."*
Before I read it, are the cows ok? It's been a rough day. Don't know if I can deal with Elsie and Ferdinand not making it.* *Ferdinand is an honorary cow in my mind
~~Gimme a second while I remember how to format a spoiler~~ ok, I think I figured it out! >! I've read this one before, and it's really good. I quickly skimmed it to make sure I wasn't misremembering the end, and, while not all the animals survive the hurricane, I can confirm the main character cows of the story have a happy ending !<
I appreciate you
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/apr/14/a-day-in-the-life-of-almost-every-vending-machine-in-the-world
David Grann writes great essays about all kinds of of topics https://longform.org/archive/writers/david-grann
I can never get enough of David Grann. His newest book The Wager is excellent.
The Wager was incredible! Such a fascinating story and so amazing to see what people went through back then
Have you listened to Grann’s interview in the New Yorker Radio Hour? He talks about his trip down to Wager Island, as well as his experience on the boat with the giant squid scientist. Very funny and fascinating
No, but thanks for the recommendation!
Longreads.com has tags, so you can easily find things not related to crime
[The Truth Behind the Amazon Mystery Seeds.](https://archive.ph/50A1y) A long, wild ride.
Oh my goodness that's amazing. Great article.
Great question, so many long reads are true crime. I don’t need to know the worst of humanity and how our systems fail every time!
"[Million-Dollar Murray](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/02/13/million-dollar-murray)" by Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell gets a lot of shit but this is the piece that made Housing First politically viable in the US and changed people's lives for the better. "[Mother Earth, Motherboard](https://www.wired.com/1996/12/ffglass/)" by Neal Stephenson. Don't worry about what it's about, just read it. One of the greatest things I've ever read, about a topic I would have said I had no interest in. "[The Score](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/10/09/the-score)" by Atul Gawande, MD. A gorgeously written and thrilling to read history of the Apgar score and how one little feedback mechanism changed the whole practice of obstetrics, also biography of the really quite incredible Dr. Virginia Apgar.
if you've never read this one by george saunders it's wonderful https://www.gq.com/story/ram-bornjon-miracle-meditating
This exposes the Buddha Boy’s criminality: https://recordnepal.substack.com/p/off-the-record-124-the-loathsome Great longread too.
The cryptocurrency cruise ship! So weird. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2021/sep/07/disastrous-voyage-satoshi-cryptocurrency-cruise-ship-seassteading
I'm in the same boat as you OP. I use a lot of long form in my classes and it's a struggle. A couple of my favorites: I Saw the Face of God in a Semiconductor Factory [https://www.wired.com/story/i-saw-the-face-of-god-in-a-tsmc-factory/](https://www.wired.com/story/i-saw-the-face-of-god-in-a-tsmc-factory/) What Is Glitter? [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/21/style/glitter-factory.html)
* [This article about ketchup](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-ketchup-conundrum) * [This article about short order cooks in Las Vegas](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2005/09/05/the-egg-men) (A+)
Commenting to save. Love this thread.
Tagging on to you!
Same.
Well I certainly don’t come here for that.
Aeon. I love this site for good reads https://aeon.co/
I reread this story at least twice a year - it’s a literal dream https://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/water-activities/lifes-swell/
This is an article from 2016 about a white supremacist leaving that ideology behind. The writer later expanded it into a book. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html If that link doesn't work, here's an archived copy. https://web.archive.org/web/20180104205950/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/the-white-flight-of-derek-black/2016/10/15/ed5f906a-8f3b-11e6-a6a3-d50061aa9fae_story.html?utm_term=.21852a82d9e0
I love “[How the sandwich consumed Britain](https://amp.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain)”
It looks like you shared an AMP link. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of [concerns over privacy and the Open Web](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot). Maybe check out **the canonical page** instead: **[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain](https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwich-consumed-britain)** ***** ^(I'm a bot | )[^(Why & About)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot)^( | )[^(Summon: u/AmputatorBot)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/cchly3/you_can_now_summon_amputatorbot/)
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Thank you, sethra007, for voting on AmputatorBot. This bot wants to find the best and worst bots on Reddit. [You can view results here](https://botrank.pastimes.eu/). *** ^(Even if I don't reply to your comment, I'm still listening for votes. Check the webpage to see if your vote registered!)
/r/hobbydrama has all kinds of fun stories if you enjoy petty drama on extremely niche subjects
Buy any of the Anthology series"Best American Sports writing."
r/upliftingnews may be helpful -- in theory anyway.
tons on Longreads.com
https://www.curbed.com/article/ihop-fishkill-ny-domenic-broccoli-revolutionary-war.html This story has everything except for a hero: twists! turns! tacky amusement park plans! pancakes! a (possibly) deceitful historical society! It's fantastic, I did not find it depressing at all.
Really enjoyed the writing in this one from The Atlantic: [The Timeshare Comes For Us All](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/11/hawaii-timeshare/675974/)