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Best of 2024: The Stories You Missed

It’s been a busy year: Here are some noteworthy pieces that may have passed you by.

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Our favorite stories of 2024.

A collection of top Longreads originals and editors’ picks from across the web.

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The Journalist Who the Nazis Could Not Silence

No one has ever received more nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize than Carl von Ossietzky. This is his story.

by Longreads December 5, 2024December 5, 2024

Where Miracles Exist for the Weekend

An unlikely journey of marriage, faith, and doubt in the Jaliscan highlands.

by Kayla Aletha Welch November 19, 2024November 20, 2024

The Kitchen with Two Doors

On the insatiable hunger for belonging.

by Kristina Kasparian November 12, 2024November 11, 2024

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The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Featuring stories from Ed Park, Rachel Kushner, Will Tavlin, Michaela Cavanagh, and S.C. Gwynne.

December 20, 2024December 19, 2024

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Oliver Whang, Shannon Mattern, Niko McCarty and Xander Balwit, Josh Dzieza, and Sam Parker.

December 13, 2024December 13, 2024

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Recommending stories by Christina Cooke, Tim Neville, Nate Rogers, Linda Kinstler, and Sandra Beasley.

December 6, 2024December 5, 2024

Editors’ Picks

How “Vanilla Tourists” and Threesome-Hunters Ironed Out Feeld’s Kinks

Josiah Gogarty | GQ | December 9, 2024 | 3,231 words

“As polyamory goes mainstream, longtime users of the alternative dating app are divided about its sudden success.”

They Missed Their Cruise Ship. That Was Only The Beginning.

Bridget Read | Curbed | December 18, 2024 | 6,780 words

“Nine stranded passengers made a mad dash across Africa to meet back up with their boat. And were vilified.”

Scholar’s Mate

Mychal Denzel Smith | The Believer | October 24, 2024 | 4,820 words

“After an emotionally tumultuous year, and in search of a way to return to his old self, a writer unexpectedly finds himself devoted to chess.”

At the Gates of Fortress Europe

Caitlin L. Chandler | The New York Review of Books | December 17, 2024 | 7,477 words

“The story of Sajjad Mohammedhasan, who sought asylum but received a year in Lithuania’s border prisons.”

Smells Like American Spirit

Franklin Schneider | Slate | December 15, 2024 | 3,949 words

“In my life, I’ve witnessed three elite salespeople at work. You won’t like their secret.”

Cancel Culture on Campus: ‘Most of Us Are Terrified’

Alice Thomson | The Times | November 27, 2024 | 4,567 words

“The tragic death of ‘cancelled’ Oxford student Alexander Rogers made headlines earlier this month. But undergraduates at some universities are not surprised.”

Century-Scale Storage

Maxwell Neely-Cohen | Library Innovation Lab at Harvard Law School | December 2024 | 14,934 words

“If you had to store something for 100 years, how would you do it?”

Trespassing For The Common Good

Samuel Firman | Noēma | December 10, 2024 | 5,190 words

“In England, a movement is growing to defy enclosure by trespassing on private land. These transgressions aim to model a more democratic relationship with nature.”

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