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Hi 👋 

Welcome back to The Lazy Reader, where we curate some of the best longform journalism from across the Web ✨

Let me open with a bold prediction: Two entries on this list will make it to my year-end TLR wrap-up.

It’s been such a good reading week for me. I hit a lucky streak with my sources, stumbling on story after incredible story. I also made it a point to end my days just a little bit earlier so I could squeeze in more reading minutes. I’ve had to work my brain harder at work and am spending less time on other hobbies, but stories as good as the ones below make that easier to take. And much more worth it.

If you somehow didn’t receive (or didn’t have the time go read) last week’s email, here’s what you missed:

• A careless candle, a burning behemoth, and brothers who put theit lives on the line.

• Murder in the world’s most peaceful country.

• An American dating experiment.

⚠️ Before jumping into the list, I want to ask you guys a question: What new types of content would you want to see from TLR?

I’ve been way too caught up in my day job recently that I’ve neglected to grow the newsletter. I’ve mostly been just keeping it running, making sure that I’m reading and sending out recommendations every week. Nothing less, but also nothing more. I want to change that.

So any feedback fro myou in terms of content that you might want to see will be really helpful. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Happy reading and see you again next Monday!

PS - Thanks to Lulu for sponsoring this week’s newsletter. Please, please consider clicking their ad below the fold or in the banner above. It’s free and really easy and is a big help to TLR. Thank you! 🙏

Story in Spotlight

Pardon my French but:

What the f*ck. I loved this story so much. This one is instantly on my list of all-time favorites.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared here a story about the crash of the Columbia, which eventually became one of America’s biggest, most tragic space-related incidents. I (and the rest of the world, I believe) was so focused on those who died in the crash that I completely forgot about the people who were left in the International Space Station.

They just lost their ride home. And ground control had become so spooked that they didn’t dare stage a rescue flight.

This article tells their story. And it’s shockingly… serene? As someone who also thrives in routine, there was definitely a sense of peace here, with the stranded astronauts just going about their days in space. But there’s also this underlying sense of dread. A tension that builds so constantly and menacingly that by about halfway through the piece, I physically couldn’t sit still.

And then the climax, which was so explosive (in more ways than one) and makes very good use of that anxiety that you’ve built up. The dismount was perfect, too—an exact blend of relief and melancholy and longing.

Very, very few non-fiction stories can take me on an emotional journey like that. Especially considering that this is a science story at its core—a genre that is famously aseptic and unfeeling. That, I think, is the highest compliment I can give a writer.

Very long, very emotional, very gripping. At the risk of being hyperbolic, this feels to me like the perfect longform science story. Set aside an hour at least for this. Maybe more if you want to savor the experience.

The Longform List

The Friend: Love Is Not a Big Enough Word | Esquire, Free

Read this earlier in the week and was so sure that it would take the spotlight this edition. The space story just won by tiniest margin.

That’s how much I loved this story, which is extremely raw and personal and emotional. Heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time. Perfectly encapsulating the beauty and gore and patience and pain of love. The profundity and banality of death.

Instant favorite, and will definitely be making it into my all-time top longform stories list.

The Jungle Prince of Delhi | The New York Times, $

Never been a fan of the signature helicopter journalism by the NYT and its correspondents. But I think this one gets somewhat of a pass because the writer dives way deeper into a local myth, seeing what other media outlets failed to detect.

Compelling to watch a journalist disprove the lies of one family that at some point had so enraptured the world. But there’s some discomfort there, too, to see a White journalist dismantle local folklore that, even if it were untrue, became a source of belief and cultural unity and, to a minor degree, historical reckoning for a poor, Brown country.

The Great Buenos Aires Bank Heist | GQ, $

Read this years ago, soon after it was first published, and decided to revisit this week. It does the bank-caper genre so well, no doubt assisted by just how bizarre the crime itself is. This story follows an unlikely band of criminals who pull off one hell of a scheme—and its unbelievable aftermath.

The way in which the crime has grown beyond its scale is inredible, spawning documentaries and books and TV shows, and a cult following of Argetines who hate their country’s banking system.

The Riddle of Everest | Vanity Fair, $

Still don’t get the appeal of climbing mountains for fun, but I nevertheless felt deeply emotionally connected to this story. Maybe that’s a testament to how good the writing is. Research here is impressive, as well: The author was able to mine the lives of these hikers to such granular detail, even if the incident happened decades ago.

Extinction is Still Forever | bioGraphic, Free

This one is especially timely given the recent news of a dire wolf being brought back from extinction. Is it cool? Yeah, definitely. Has the giant dog technically been brought back to life? According to this story, no. The reality of bringing species back from the abyss is much, much more complicated, and that word—de-extinction—disregards a lot of the nuance.

Science journalism—and science communication more broadly—has a lot of work to do to shift everyone’s viewpoint on extinction and why it matters, on an ecological level.

The Positively True Adventures of the Kilgore Rangerette–Kidnapping Mom | TexasMonthly, $

Completely crazy. There’s always something morbidly fascinating about these outlandish crimes in these relatively backwater communities. Huge outrage, small town. There’s also an urge to minimize the motive—you’re holding them up over that??—but I think that’s part of the appeal of these stories. The gravity of the crime and the real risk of injury forces you to suspend your disbelief of the reasoning.

We Bought a Crack House | Toronto Life, Free

This story reads a lot like another longread I shared here a few weeks back—this one, about a foodie betting his life savings on a restaurant—but these types of stories are always so compelling. There’s something about watching someone make one horrible decision after another that keeps you hooked. It helps, too, that the writer has a really friendly prose.

Spot the Difference: The Invincible Business of Counterfeit Goods | The Guardian, Free

Typical longform fare from The Guardian. Interesting and well-researched, but not something that will really stand out and stick with you. Which is unfortunate because this is an interesting subject and I wish they’d have done more with it. Maybe report from the Global South, where these knock-offs are made and where they have a massive market?

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Thanks for reading! Please, please reach out if you have feedback, suggestions, or questions. Alternatively, you can fill out this super quick survey form. I promise it won’t even take five minutes of your time, and it’ll be a HUGE help!

ALSO: I know some of the stories I recommend might be behind paywalls, and maybe I can help you with access to those. Send me a message and let’s see what we can do 😊

Until next Monday! 👋

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