Our favorite stories of 2024.

A collection of top Longreads originals and editors’ picks from across the web.

Weekly Top 5

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Showcasing stories from Oliver Whang, Shannon Mattern, Niko McCarty and Xander Balwit, Josh Dzieza, and Sam Parker.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Recommending stories by Christina Cooke, Tim Neville, Nate Rogers, Linda Kinstler, and Sandra Beasley.

The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

This week we have stories from Patrick Fealey, S.C. Cornell, Sterry Butcher, Robin Wall Kimmerer and Jenny Odell, and Francisco Garcia.

Editors’ Picks

The Quest to Turn Human Waste Into Medicine

Jason Gale | Bloomberg Businessweek | December 5, 2024 | 3,108 words

“After success in early stage trials, MaaT Pharma is on the verge of becoming the first company to have an approved microbiome-related product for cancer care.”

Animals as Chemical Factories

Niko McCarty, Xander Balwit | Works in Progress | December 5, 2024 | 4,572 words

“Horses bled for antivenom, crabs drained for endotoxin tests, and silkworms boiled for silk. Science can now replace these practices with synthetic alternatives — but we need to find ways…

To Whom Does the World Belong?

Alexander Hartley | Boston Review | December 10, 2024 | 6,782 words

“The legal battles over AI currently playing out—and the large number still to come—may profoundly impact the balance of wealth and power in countless democracies in the decades ahead.”

World in a Box

Shannon Mattern | Places Journal | May 15, 2024 | 7,156 words

“Cardboard media and the geographic imagination.”

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Essays and Features

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Reading Lists

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