Strangers in a Homeland
In Kabul, one of the world’s most dangerous cities, one man works to help Afghan migrants return to a place they never knew.
VQR
The Surrogacy Cycle
Carrying babies for foreign couples was once touted as a win-win for everyone involved. Indian women, however, were often left with little to show for their efforts.
We a Baddd People
A grandmother’s tale of the night her first love had to leave town.
Loch Ness Memoir
A trip to Scotland and an investigation of enduring belief.
“I remember reading about the deathbed confession, and how strangely sad it made me, even though I had not, at that point, believed in the monster for years. How much sadder, I wondered, would it make those who still believed in the existence of a monster in Loch Ness?”
In the Land of Vendettas That Go On Forever
In Northern Albania, vengeance is as likely a form of restitution as anything the criminal-justice system can offer.
Lord of the WASPs
Life on an isolated island utopia.
A Kingdom for a Horse
“The most decorated athlete in all of Kazakhstan is a five-year-old Mongolian horse named Lazer.”
Grand Unified Theory of Female Pain
An essay on the wounded woman.
Tent Revival
For three days, thousands of uninsured Americans converge on the Wise County Fairgrounds for the largest pop-up clinic in the country.
Mysterious American Cat
On the mountain lions of Los Angeles.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Vogel Staar
How Mozart’s starling impacted his music.
Night Moves
How our efforts to illuminate the nighttime are dangerous to Earth’s biodiversity.
Calling Art
On the wandering career and sweet baritone voice of Art Laboe, the DJ behind the phrase “oldies but goodies.”
Taking Care of Our Own
The dilemma of providing quality health care for undocumented immigrants, and how one city is attempting to solve it.
Who Is Zwarte Piet?
A holiday tradition in the Netherlands involving blackface has sparked a debate about race, the legacy of slavery, and the vestiges of colonialism.
The Lessons of Atmeh
The complexities of offering aid to a Syrian refugee camp.
The Price of Black Ambition
“I am having a moment, but I only want more. I need more. I cannot merely be good enough because I am chased by the pernicious whispers that I might only be ‘good enough for a black woman.’”
Linux for Lettuce
The “subtly radical” open-source plant movement.
A Polar Turn of Mind
Finding peace and quiet in the high Canadian Arctic.
Previously: The Longform Guide to Silence.
India’s Golden Chance
How the next generation of Indian women could break the country’s cycle of early motherhood and forced marriage.
