Longform stories are some of my favorite articles to read on the internet. It is some of the best writing you will find online. The stories typically contain illustrations, photography, interactives, and an engaging story.
I normally do this list twice a year, but as I looked at it the other day, I realized it had quickly grown in size. There are also many stories that are relevant to now and I don’t want to wait until the end of the year to share them. If this continues, I may change this list to once a month.
You can still read Part 1, which has some great stories.
How debt kills, Jerome Rogers: 1995 – 2016
By Ashitha Nagesh
How two traffic fines led a boy to his death
Call Your Momma
By Gabriel Jesus
Then the storm came. That night, it rained so hard that we woke up the next morning and they were talking about maybe cancelling the match.
By the time we kicked off, the whole field was mud. It was crazy. We started running and we were falling all over the field. None of our guys could stay on their feet. But somehow the Portuguesa players were fine. They were staying up.
They had the real metal cleats. The ones you can screw in when it rains.
Our boots were the cheap ones with the little plastic cleats. They were all worn down.
And I remember, in that moment, it was just like … Damn. This is life.
We still gave our lives to try to win, but we ended up losing 4-2. I’ll never forget watching Portuguesa celebrate with the trophy. Football is just like anything in life. It’s not fair. So you still have to find a way, even when it’s not fair.
Hell on Wheels
by Kiera Feldman, Voice of America, special to ProPublica
Fatal accidents, off-the-books workers, a union once run by a mobster. The rogue world of one of New York’s major trash haulers.
When the punishment feels like a crime
By Julia Ioffe
Brock Turner’s twisted legacy—and a Stanford professor’s relentless pursuit of justice.
China has turned Xinjiang into a police state like no other
Totalitarian determination and modern technology have produced a massive abuse of human rights
Dust rising
By Michael Zelenko
As California’s largest lake dries up, it threatens nearby communities with clouds of toxic dust
The Enlightenment’s Dark Side
By Jamelle Bouie
How the Enlightenment created modern race thinking, and why we should confront it.
A Talent for Sloth
By Philip Connors
Ten years as a lookout on a fire tower requires a particular aptitude for idleness.
The Dark Side of the Orgasmic Meditation Company
By Ellen Huet
OneTaste is pushing its sexuality wellness education toward the mainstream. Some former members say it pushed them into sexual servitude and five-figure debts.
Mission Accomplished
by Tonya Malinowski
In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger stunned the nation when it broke apart 73 seconds into flight. This is the story of the soccer ball that survived — and the family that sent it into space, twice.
Working The Night Shift For Mexico City’s Bloody Crime Tabloids
By James Fredrick
“I don’t think it’s OK these newspapers take advantage of death and people’s grief. They should respect the dead,” she says.
But reporter Alvarado coolly says there’s a clear market demand.
“People are morbid,” he says. “If they didn’t want to read and see this, I wouldn’t have a job.”
How Conservatives Use Made-Up And/Or Misleading Nonsense To Justify Police Killings
by Nathan J. Robinson
Did you know that white people are a terrifying threat to police everywhere? It’s just math!
Reddit discussion.
Who’s Really Crossing the U.S. Border, and Why They’re Coming
By Stephanie Leutert
Despite what the president says, the situation at the border is much more nuanced. There’s not a flood of people racing across the border. The majority of migrants aren’t dangerous criminals. Many are women and families—and many are fleeing gang violence rather than seeking to spread that violence farther north.
Complicating the Narratives
By Amanda Ripley
What if journalists covered controversial issues differently — based on how humans actually behave when they are polarized and suspicious?
The Dark Side of Thomas Jefferson
By Henry Wiencek
A new portrait of the founding father challenges the long-held perception of Thomas Jefferson as a benevolent slaveholder
Summer of Rage
By Rebecca Traister
White men are the minority in the United States — no wonder they get uncomfortable when their power is challenged.
Nevis: how the world’s most secretive offshore haven refuses to clean up
By Oliver Bullough
The years since 2008 have seen a global crackdown on offshore finance. Yet a few places have doubled down on offering secrecy to the super-rich. Among these, one tiny Caribbean island might be the worst offender.
Google’s iron grip on Android: Controlling open source by any means necessary
By Ron Amadeo
While Android is open, it’s more of a “look but don’t touch” kind of open. You’re allowed to contribute to Android and allowed to use it for little hobbies, but in nearly every area, the deck is stacked against anyone trying to use Android without Google’s blessing. The second you try to take Android and do something that Google doesn’t approve of, it will bring the world crashing down upon you.
Can truth survive this president? An honest investigation
By Carlos Lozada
Reality-based thinking is again under assault in America, but the deceit emanating from the White House today is lazier, more cynical. It is not born of grand strategy or ideology; it is impulsive and self-serving. It is not arrogant, but shameless.
The death of truth: how we gave up on facts and ended up with Trump
By Michiko Kakutani
From post-modernism to filter bubbles, ‘truth decay’ has been spreading for decades. How can we stop alternative facts from bringing down democracy
The Demise of Toys ‘R’ Us Is a Warning
By Bryce Covert
The private-equity companies swooping in to buy floundering retailers may ultimately be hastening their demise.
Shadow Politics: Meet the Digital Sleuth Exposing Fake News
By Issie Lapowsky
Buried in media scholar Jonathan Albright’s research was proof of a massive political misinformation campaign. Now he’s taking on the the world’s biggest platforms before it’s too late.
Putin: The one-man show the West doesn’t understand
By Fiona Hill
The West is at an inflection point in its relations with Russia; the stakes for having an accurate understanding of its president, Vladimir Putin, have never been higher. A misreading of this man – now one of the most consequential international political figures and challengers to the US-led world order since the end of the Cold War – could have catastrophic consequences.
Return of the Ghost Cat
Story by Mike Unwin
Photographs by Laurent Geslin
An elusive predator returns to Europe’s mountains, helping restore nature’s balance. A French photographer stalks the Eurasian lynx.
Fact-checkers have debunked this fake news site 80 times. It’s still publishing on Facebook
By Daniel Funke
YourNewsWire is one of the most popular fake news publishers in the world. The website, run by two men in Los Angeles, regularly pumps out hoaxes and conspiracy theories. It has promoted the Pizzagate conspiracy theory and has been the subject of a glossy profile by The Hollywood Reporter.
And despite being debunked at least 80 times, and having its posts fact-checked as false through Facebook’s fact-checking partnership at least 45 times, YourNewsWire is still publishing on the platform — amassing hundreds of thousands of engagements each month.
Dustin Giebel and Russia’s Controlled Opposition in Action: How Unwitting and Controlled Actors on the Left Are Helping Putin Win the Information War
By Jay McKenzie
The goal of the Kremlin’s active measures is to control the conversation and control the outcomes. The truth is not important. Your reaction to what you perceive is happening is important. This strategy is centered around what is known as reflexive control.
How Trump Radicalized ICE
A long-running inferiority complex, vast statutory power, a chilling new directive from the top—inside America’s unfolding immigration tragedy
Yuval Noah Harari on what the year 2050 has in store for humankind
By Yuval Noah Harari
“As the pace of change increases, the very meaning of being human is likely to mutate and physical and cognitive structures will melt”
This is an extract from his book, “Homo Deus.” The book is well worth the read.
When the Supreme Court Lurches Right
By Emily Bazelon
What happens when the Supreme Court becomes significantly more conservative than the public?
How America’s ‘most reckless’ billionaire created the fracking boom
By Bethany McLean
The wild tale of America’s energy revolution, and the cowboy who made and lost billions on shale.
Alan Rusbridger: who broke the news?
By Alan Rusbridger
The former editor-in-chief of the Guardian looks back on two decades that changed journalism for ever.
How to be human: the man who was raised by wolves
By Matthew Bremner
Abandoned as a child, Marcos Rodríguez Pantoja survived alone in the wild for 15 years. But living with people proved to be even more difficult.
How Ouija boards work. (Hint: It’s not ghosts.)
By Aja Romano
No, demons will not possess you if you use one.