“Magni’s first idea was to test Di Muro’s clothes for the presence of plankton to partially verify his alibi.”
Smithsonian Magazine
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring stories from Margaret Talbot, Wiam El-Tamami, Virginia Heffernan, Dave Denison, and Meilan Solly.
Ornamental Hermits Were 18th-Century England’s Must-Have Garden Accessory
“Wealthy landowners hired men who agreed to live in isolation on their estates for as long as seven years.”
There She Goes: A Reading List on Women Adventurers
The women you’ll find on top of the world.
More Than Just an Object: A Collector’s Reading List
The bowerbird, which lives on the east coast of Australia, has an abiding eye for anything blue. Solitary males travel great distances to bring back all manner of blue objects to decorate their nests. Shells, flowers, plastic bottles, and feathers are all fair game, and bowerbirds have even been known to grind up blue pigments […]
Monsters, Mothers, Mulieres: A Reading List on The Women of Classical Antiquity
Five stories of ambitious empresses, fearsome gladiators, and ordinary working-class residents — glimmering snapshots of the female experience in the classical world.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Josefa Velasquez, Wufei Yu, Tom Foster, Tim Requarth, and Ellen Ruppel Shell.
Gone For a Hike: A Reading List on Wilderness and Survival
Five captivating reads on adventures you never want to have.
A Tall Tree Reading List
Let’s go down to the woods today … with a reading list all about trees.
Forced to Perform As Aretha Franklin
How soul singer Mary Jane Jones was forced to perform as Aretha Franklin before she took control of her life and career.