When do we let go of a dying loved one? 🥀

What does life (and death) really mean for us? 🩺

Hi 👋 

We’re back again with another reading list of some of the best longform journalism across the internet ✨

Once again, my feeds last week were nearly totally colonized by just one thing (I give you one guess as to what). And while I can appreciate how important it is (and the memes are funny, I admit), I don’t necessarily want it to be only thing I read about. Variety is the spice of life, so the cliché goes. And I’m sure TLR readers can agree with that 😉

So this week’s list is full of classics from my archive—stories from years ago that have always stuck with me or hit me particularly hard, enough for me to write about it in one of my old journals. Here’s what to expect:

  • This love story between two bigger-than-life people and with one of the world’s most tortured countries.

  • An exposé of the ‘carbon footprint’ sham and the oil money behind one of the world’s most insidious marketing campaigns.

  • A historical investigation that targets not just a powerful and enduring Rhode Island icon, but also of the corrupt system that let her claim innocence.

  • Not an old story, but an important one: A painful look at a ghost insurance network that preys on people in distress.

As with last week, please let me know what you think of the list this week by voting in the poll below.

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Happy reading and see you again next Monday!

Story in Spotlight

What Should Medicine Do When It Can’t Save You?

Modern medicine is good at staving off death—and bad at knowing when to focus on improving the days that terminal patients have left.

Content warning: If the title and blurb aren’t enough giveaways yet, this story is heavily centered on death. If you are grieving or are otherwise triggered by this, you might want to skip this story.

I know I keep on saying it, but I will here again: Death has been on my mind a lot lately. So much so that I’ve now begun to understand that death itself is not simply a point that we spend our entire lives approaching. Instead, it’s more of a series of important crossroads and choices that we make as we move closer to the end of our lives.

I’ve read (and re-read) a lot of essays about death in recent months, and this one I think stands out in an interesting way because it speaks to me in a language that I’m very comfortable with—medicine and science. And the questions that this story asks the medical enterprise are also valuable to ask ourselves: What does death mean for us? How do we expect to die? What are we willing to go through for a bit more time with our loved ones?

More profoundly: What are the things that are truly important for us? What does it mean for us to live?

The story provides one example, from one person who had to contend with their mortality too: According to them, if they can still sit in front of the TV watching sports and eating ice cream, then they want a shot at that. Simple enough, right? But very profound. For them, that’s what life ultimately boils down to. All the struggle and the rewards and the beauty and the pain, condensed into something so plain.

Since first reading this story a few years ago, I’ve tried to find my own ice cream and TV. It hasn’t been straightforward, mostly because I’m still relatively young, and so my wants and needs in life continue to change at a pace that I almost can’t keep up with. But I try to keep the search top of mind. And that’s something that I also encourage you to do.

Very long. And in my opinion, the story asks you to introspect a lot, which can take even more time. I’d commit more than 1 hour for this.

The Longform List

🗿 Love and Ruin | The Atavist, Free

I know, I know. It might seem that The Lazy Reader is steadily becoming a The Atavist stan. But is that really so bad?

I’d argue the opposite, actually. Because look at what we get: Incredible stories like this one. Now, this is as much an elaborate piece of dedicated longform journalism as it is a love letter to Afghanistan, going so incredibly deep into the tortured history of the country and mostly adopting the worldview of its main characters, which is that the Afghan people are limitless, only if they are allowed and supported to reach their potential.

Speaking of characters, writer James Verini follows two lovers who have devoted both their relationship and their lives to Afghanistan. If I’m being honest, it evoked some deep, complicated feeling in me, which I haven’t really completely sorted out yet, even if I’ve re-read this many times in recent years. But I guess that’s exactly what makes this piece magnificent.

Very long. I’d set aside 1 hour and 30 ish minutes for this one. 

🚗 Homicide at Rough Point | Vanity Fair, Free

If you’re into True Crime, then this will be right up your alley. Plus points, too, for it not making an obscene spectacle out of the death at the center of this entire story.

Instead, this one reads mcuh more like an investigative piece. Writer Peter Lance spent most of his career in the shadow of this one incident that everyone around him dismissed as solved, even if it was clear that the initial police inquiry was… flawed. Years later, he decides to revisit the crime and finds that there really is more than what the official records claim.

At its core, this story is more an indictment of how law enforcement in the U.S. (or in Newport, more specifically) is so easily bent under the pressure of money and influence. That’s not exactly a novel observation, but the ways in which it played out in this story is heartbreaking.

Long, but a very smooth experience. Maybe an hour at most. 

⚖️ Reversal of Fortune | The New Yorker, $

I first discovered who Stephen Donziger was a couple of years before COVID-19 happened, when I started doing some serious research into climate justice. Needless to say, I quickly became an admirer.

In that light, this story felt… complicated to me (again, those are the best ones, I’m learning). I understand that PRK (the PRK) wanted to paint Donziger honestly, capturing his entire, complex self. That includes all the faults, of course, including and especially the ones that ultimately hurt his court case.

Still… I feel like that doesn’t do much for the planet. Though maybe that’s the point? But where is this same level of individual scrutiny for Chevron’s lawyers? It’s execs?

Don’t get me wrong. This is still an excellent story. Reporting was incredible, as was the prose. And I do understand the value in profiling Donziger alongside the case that made him who he is. It just feels like there could have been a better story told.

Very long, and can get thick with details and names in some spots. I’d say take this one slow and allot 2 ish hours so you don’t burn out.

⚠️ Content warning: Lots of mention of depression, anxiety, substance addiction and self-harm. Please read with care. And if you or anyone you know is in crisis, please reach out to a qualified professional.

This might be my favorite ProPublica investigation so far this year. And not so much because they aced the investigative part of it (I mean… it was good, but nothing standout in my opinion), but because this is such a strong human story. The writer did an incredible job of telling an honest but compassionate narrative of struggling with mental health, and made it really easy to feel the same frustration and hopelessness that the victim must have felt. Really heartbreaking story, but very important for people to read.

Not overly long. I’d say around 30 minutes at most. 

🏭 The Carbon Footprint Sham | Mashable SEA, Free

I always send this story to people who ask me for climate-related reading recommendations. I’ve learned that people (myself included) have been so arrested by the concept of the carbon footprint that they don’t even consider that it might have been a marketing ploy. Which is a testament to just how genius of a campaign it was (and still is, in many ways).

But more importantly, I think this story helps people understand how heartless corporations can be (evil is a word that I prefer, but that might be too strong). For all their bluster about sustainability and carbon offsets and “being eco-friendly,” most (if not all) of the world’s biggest corporations—those in oil, especially—don’t actually care about the environment. They only care about profit.

Not long at all, and this always seems to be a compelling story, according to people I’ve recommended this to. I’d say 15 minutes.

I won’t lie: I’m putting this on the list almost entirely because I don’t think there’s ever been a story about Putin’s sons. (I never even knew he had sons in the first place). The reportage here is on a different level of impressive. Dossier relies on insider, anonymous sources, which I think isn’t always the best thing in an industry that puts a premium on transparency. That said, given the very sensitive—not to mention very life-threatening—nature of the entire situation, I’m more than happy to give it a free pass.

A tiny nitpick: The prose here… leaves much to be desired. Some sentences are choppy and confusing, and I found the structure to be mostly unhelpful in trying to understand the already-complicated subject matter. It lacks some polish overall, for me.

Not too long, but it might get difficult to read through in some parts. I’d allot 45 minutes.

That Discover piece from a few weeks ago about the kidney kingpin in India really reignited my interest for the global organ trade.

Then The Guardian dropped this story last week. Feels like the universe is giving me a sign.

In any case, this one is largely a classic trafficking story—and that’s not to minimize how harrowing this story is. Here, The Guardian tells the story of both the victims, who are exploited and lied to and then left to suffer, as well as the brokers of the organ trading system. By acting as middlemen, these brokers think that connecting poor and desperate people with morally depraved doctors is just a simple, rational business decision. That displaced peoples wanting to risk a perilous journey just for a shot at survival is a normal fact of life. It’s frustrating to put it very lightly and infuriating to put it more accurately.

Not too long, but very heavy. Feel free to give yourself 45 ish minutes and take it slowly with this one. 

Speaking of trafficking: This one is a giant and very visually impressive story from HuffPo that won one of those big magazine awards years back.

Human collateral is always a painful part of any war and conflict (which themselves are often inextricably linked to greed over a resource one has that the other doesn’t, but I digress). Those who are lucky enough to survive the violence are driven from their homes, turned from residents to refugees. And, as the previous story shows, there will always be people who will want to take advantage of the chaos and make obscene amounts of money from others’ suffering. And act as if that’s some streak of entrepreneurial genius to brag about.

This story is the first of a four-part series that examines this depressing network. I heavily, heavily encourage you to read the others. The series is from 2016 but much of it is very recognizable today, especially with all the large-scale conflicts happening across the world.

Not long and relatively quick to read because the visuals make it flow easily. This story took me 20 minutes, but the entire series of course will take much longer.

I’ve really been enjoying MEL lately because of how they cover men’s health and interests from unique and interesting angles.

This story is no exception, but I will say that the title misleads a tiny bit. To be fair: the story does go into groups that try to fact-check dick sizes in porn, though I guess I wished that it did more of that. Instead, the story focuses more on the psychological harms of pop culture’s fixation on size (and the ridiculous lengths that we go to to warp what 6 inches means). And don’t get me wrong: That’s an important story to tell, for sure, and this is a well-researched and well-written article. It just wasn’t what I was expecting, I guess. Still very worth your time though!

Not too long and easy to digest. Maybe 10 minutes if you can stay focused. 

I don’t know if this is a necessary disclosure but: I use Telegram, and it’s actually my messaging app of choice.

That said, even as a casual user, I know first-hand how Telegram can be a depraved breeding ground for some of the worst types of people. I guess that’s the dark flip-side of utmost, end-to-end privacy? And to that end, I think I understand the industry talking-point of social platforms not being the ultimate arbiters of freedom of speech (and therefore they shouldn’t be held accountable for whatever is posted on their sites, though I’m not sure I agree with that specifically).

But that, of course, is no excuse for terror. There has to be some kind of cooperative mechanism between industry and governments to efficiently catch these groups and stamp them out as early as possible.

Not long and very important, especially if you live in the U.S. Maybe 20 minutes at most, distractions included.  

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Thanks for reading! Please, please reach out if you have feedback, suggestions, or questions. I know some of the stories I recommend might be behind paywalls, and maybe I can help you with access to those, too!

Also, I’d appreciate it so much if you help me grow by sharing The Lazy Reader with friends or family who you think might also enjoy a good longform story 🫶

Until next Monday! 👋

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