This week features pieces from Sabrina Imbler, Natan Last, Lulu Miller and John Megahan, Casey Cep, and David Grimm.
Immigration
Can Crosswords Be More Inclusive?
“The puzzles spread from the United States across the globe, but the American crossword today doesn’t always reflect the linguistic changes that immigration brings.”
When the Coast Guard Intercepts Unaccompanied Kids
“A Haitian boy arrived on Florida’s maritime border. His next five days detained at sea illuminate the crisis facing children traveling to the U.S. alone and the crews forced to send them back.”
The Albanian Town that TikTok Emptied
“’It’s like the boys have gone extinct,’ say women in Kukes. They’ve all left for London, chasing dreams of fast cars and easy money sold on social media.”
A Mother’s Exchange for Her Daughter’s Future
“Two lives bound into one story by immigration and illness.”
Remembering the Egyptian Childhood I Never Had Through Its Culinary Traditions
“Sometimes I think my parents were afraid they might fade into the ether if I didn’t understand what home meant to them. In a sense, they were probably right.”
Abdul Sharifu Was Buying Milk For A Neighbor’s Baby. A Snowstorm Killed Him.
“How the tragic death of one man during Buffalo’s historic snowstorm in December highlights both the city’s close-knit immigrant community and its systemic failures.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
As January draws to a close, our favorite stories this week included a stirring critical essay, a paean to the world’s greatest boxed meal, a rethinking of psychedelics’ impact on the planet, a profile of a craftsperson at his peak, and an eye-opener about how humpback whales use air in some unexpected ways. 1. Corky […]
Extraction
“When your great-grandparents grew up in Stalin’s terror-famine, your grandparents in the Holocaust, and your parents in a straddle between totalitarianism and democracy, you grew up confused about pain.”