The Sunday Long Read
banner
thesundaylongread.bsky.social
The Sunday Long Read
@thesundaylongread.bsky.social
The very best longform journalism, chosen every Sunday by Don Van Natta Jr. & Jacob Feldman. Since 2014.

https://sundaylongread.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6e1ae4ac632498a38c1d57c54&id=67e6e8a504

https://sundaylongread.com/podcast/
Our Best of 2025 edition is here! The list includes stories of urgency and import by writers like @sarahzhang.bsky.social, @korisuzuki.com, @shamblanderson.bsky.social, @epcalabro.bsky.social + many more. mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...
☀️ The Sunday Long Read: Best of 2025
The best longform journalism—every Sunday.
mailchi.mp
December 15, 2025 at 2:56 PM
In our latest SLR podcast episode, Alana Newhouse, the editor-in-chief of Tablet, unpacks one of the magazine’s latest cover stories: a piece about the horrors of factory farming in the U.S., specifically as it relates to pig farms. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
December 14, 2025 at 3:50 PM
It's here—our year-end double issue! We've got a lot to share this week: our favorites stories of the year, your most-read pieces, great stuff from this week, and plenty more to last you through the holiday season. Enjoy! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...
☀️ The Sunday Long Read: Best of 2025
The best longform journalism—every Sunday.
mailchi.mp
December 14, 2025 at 3:43 PM
We'll be releasing a new episode of the SLR podcast tomorrow (here's a little preview)! We speak to editor Alana Newhouse about Tablet Magazine's most recent cover story, American Trief: www.tabletmag.com/sections/new...
December 12, 2025 at 7:58 PM
David Gauvey Herbert does some great shoe leather reporting to track down a series of men who played Santa Claus at Macy's famous Santaland in New York. Their stories are even more amazing than you could imagine. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's top pick www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a6...
Playing Santa Does Strange Things to a Man. What It Did to Bob Rutan Was Even Stranger.
Bob Rutan is legendary among the tight-knit fraternity of Macy’s Santa Clauses. Like many of these men, playing Santa changed Bob. Profoundly. His story is one of struggle and failure, heartbreak and ...
www.esquire.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"I read this piece on Thanksgiving Eve. Over the holiday weekend, I forwarded it, via text and email, to many of my female friends, all of whom responded with a “Wow” or “Spot-on” or the 100 emoji." @dvnjr.bsky.social on his fave this week by Ellen Scherr www.blog.lifebranches.com/p/aging-out-...
Aging Out of Fucks: The Neuroscience of Why You Suddenly Can’t Pretend Anymore
Your brain's middle finger to people-pleasing
www.blog.lifebranches.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
100 best TV episodes, no filter, playing Santa & more in this week's newsletter: mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...
☀️ The Sunday Long Read: 100 Best TV Episodes, No Filter, Playing Santa
The week's best journalism. Every Sunday.
mailchi.mp
December 7, 2025 at 2:16 PM
“Freelance journalism in 2025 is an incredibly difficult place to build a career,” Nicholas Hune-Brown writes. “But, it turns out, it’s a decent enough arena for a scam.” @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite this week thelocal.to/investigatin...
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era | The Local
A suspicious pitch from a freelancer led editor Nicholas Hune-Brown to dig into their past work. By the end, four publications, including The Guardian and Dwell, had removed articles from their sites.
thelocal.to
November 23, 2025 at 3:48 PM
In 2014, Paul Lundy was in his mid-50s in a corporate job that had stopped being fun. Then he read a story about a 92-year-old typewriter repairman named Bob Montgomery... @dvnjr.bsky.social's favorite this week via @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How to Fix a Typewriter and Your Life (Gift Article)
This is the story of how a man traded steady, grinding corporate security for a dying craft and, in the process, found his soul.
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Now's the time to become a SLR member! We're offering 30% off your first month—or year. Just use the code THANKS. SLR members receive every newsletter 12 hours early plus bonus editions throughout the year. sundaylongread.memberful.com/join
The Sunday Long Read
sundaylongread.memberful.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Typewriter fixes, pelvic floor, David Byrne & more in this week's issue mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...
The Sunday Long Read: AI Scam, Pelvic Floor, Talking Heads
The week's best journalism. Every Sunday.
mailchi.mp
November 23, 2025 at 3:38 PM
What happened to Ryan Borgwardt? Deep inside Green Lake County, Wisconsin, Jamie Thompson investigates, tracking what turns out to be a globe-spanning story about family, responsibility, and what makes a good life. Our favorite this week www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
The Missing Kayaker
What happened to Ryan Borgwardt?
www.theatlantic.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Missing kayaker, wildlife traffickers, special teams & more in this week's issue. mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...
The Sunday Long Read: Missing Kayaker, Wildlife Traffickers, Special Teams
The week's best journalism. Every Sunday.
mailchi.mp
November 16, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Emily Baumgaertner Nunn embedded with vice investigators trying to fight a growing world of traffickers preying on underage women. In our top read this week, she brings the haunting situation to life. @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/m...
Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street?
www.nytimes.com
November 2, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Morning! We have a special double issue to share today. And we've been given an extra hour to read this weekend- enjoy! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...
The Sunday Long Read: Shadow War, Baby Whisperer, Music Issue
The week's best journalism. Every Sunday.
mailchi.mp
November 2, 2025 at 1:21 PM
"Going in, I thought, 'Huh, this concept might make for a great docuseries.' But well before the end of the journey, I'd decided that Priya Krishna and team had actually delivered everything I'd want to watch—and more." @jacobfeldman.bsky.social on his top pick www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opening a Restaurant in New York Is No Picnic. Here’s What It Takes. (Gift Article)
A year in the making of a rookie’s first restaurant.
www.nytimes.com
October 26, 2025 at 2:57 PM
“When running was going right, the rest of my life seemed to follow,” writes @nxthompson.bsky.social in this lyrical, deeply affecting essay about cancer, endurance and the lessons we learn from our fathers. @dvnjr.bsky.social's pick this week via @theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Why I Run
I took up the sport to be like my father. I kept going because he stopped.
www.theatlantic.com
October 26, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Morning! We've got some great stories to share today—starting with our latest SLR Original. Enjoy and please share! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...
The Sunday Long Read: Digital Remains, Why I Run, New Restaurant
The week's best journalism. Every Sunday.
mailchi.mp
October 26, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Would you rather have a fully nude, open casket funeral or an open information corpse funeral, your unlocked phone and laptop available for mourners to scroll through? Writer Kiki Dy explores this question and more in a new SLR original story. sundaylongread.com/2025/10/23/a...
Can my dead uncle’s phone break the cycle of addiction?  - The Sunday Long Read
What happens when you come into a relatives digital remains and are forced to confront questions of identity, addiction, and family history?
sundaylongread.com
October 24, 2025 at 5:55 PM
In a new SLR original, writer Kiki Dy comes into possession of her uncle's digital remains–the data from his cell phone–and it forces her to confront questions of identity, addiction, and family history. sundaylongread.com/2025/10/23/a...
Can my dead uncle’s phone break the cycle of addiction?  - The Sunday Long Read
What happens when you come into a relatives digital remains and are forced to confront questions of identity, addiction, and family history?
sundaylongread.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:40 PM
"Watching him struggle with how to be himself, and be a winner, made this story about a person I can't even vote for utterly riveting." -Guest editor @davidpierce.xyz on his favorite piece by Astead Herndon about Zohran Mamdani. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/m...
Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani
www.nytimes.com
October 19, 2025 at 2:53 PM