EDITORS’ NOTE: Rather than take this week off entirely as a Spring Break, the SLR team decided we’d use the occasion to show off the Member Special Edition that our beloved paying supporters receive from time to time on top of our weekly newsletters. A few times a year, we will take a week off (giving our hard-working contributing editors a well-earned reprieve) but our members won’t go without, receiving a slimmed-down version of the SLR, similar to this one. Your support keeps this passion project going. We can’t thank you enough for celebrating enlightening, entertaining, and oh-so-needed quality journalism with us every weekend.
A superb look at “how the greatest retail innovation of the internet was created, in the face of sound logic and reason that suggested it might very well be disastrous.” Jason Del Rey explains how Amazon zoomed from an $18 billion company in 2004 to a $900 billion-plus company today. It was all due to a $79 a year program for two-day shipping that few people inside the company thought would work but ended up changing online shopping forever. One of our favorite oral histories this year.
What happened to the group of bright college students who fell under the sway of a classmate’s father? A master-class in reporting and story-telling by Ezra Marcus and James D. Walsh.
A young Native American activist fell in love and found purpose on a Dakota prairie. We were riveted by Elizabeth Flock’s story of romance, resistance and betrayal during the Standing Rock protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
“Every time I hear about somebody that has millions and millions but they lived a frugal life, I go, ‘Why? Have some fun.’ ” Claire Martin’s story about the millionaire hermit is a fun whydunit, rich with bizarre, head-scratching details. Treat yourself!
This story just sort of snuck up on us. It’s about a very big crime in a very small town. “Everyone was a suspect,” an investigator says. Even if you can’t stand “The Wizard of Oz,” you’ll get a kick out of the mysterious theft of a town’s most prized possession.
The 67-year-old Oscar winner discusses growing up in Hollywood (and her largely absent, legendary father, John Huston), beating Oprah at the Oscars and why Jack Nicholson doesn’t act anymore.
After years of hiding, trans photographer Nikki Smith is now comfortable being her true self in front of the lens. Her guiding words are tattooed on her forearm: show up and be seen.
On Monday, May 6, Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer, goes to federal prison, in Otisville, New York, to begin serving a three-year sentence. Jeffrey Toobin argues that Cohen, “the fall guy in his web of misconduct,” now looks like a victim as much as a criminal.
The highly anticipated film, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Vile and Evil, which debuted on Netflix Friday, is based on a long out-of-print memoir by Ted Bundy’s girlfriend. The story behind the largely anonymous author (and her suddenly in-demand book, now fetching $2,000 a copy) is fascinating.
“Whenever you post a photo on Instagram, write an Amazon review, or skim through complaints about potholes on your neighborhood’s Facebook group, you’re helping generate profit for the world’s richest corporations,” writes Livia Gershon. “A growing movement is making the case that you ought to get paid for it.”
Founder, Curator: Don Van Natta Jr. Producer, Curator: Jacob Feldman Producer, Curator: Étienne Lajoie Senior Recycling Editor: Jack Shafer Senior Long View Editor: Justine Gubar Senior Photo Editor: Patrick Farrell Senior Music Editor: Kelly Dearmore Senior Limerick Editor: Tim Torkildson Senior Podcast Editor: Jody Avirgan Senior Editor of Esoterica: Ryan M. Rodenberg
Digital Team: Nation Hahn, Nickolaus Hines, Megan McDonell, Alexa Steinberg Podcast Team: Peter Bailey-Wells, Cary Barbor, Julian McKenzie, Jonathan Yales Webmaster: Ana Srikanth Campus Editor: Peter Warren
Contributing Editors: Bruce Arthur, Shaun Assael, Nick Aster, Alex Belth, Sara J. Benincasa, Jonathan Bernstein, Sara Blask, Greg Bishop, Taffy Brodesser-Akner, Maria Bustillos, Chris Cillizza, Anna Katherine Clemmons, Rich Cohen, Jonathan Coleman, Pam Colloff, Maureen Dowd, Charles Duhigg, Brett Michael Dykes, Geoff Edgers, Hadley Freeman, Lea Goldman, Michael N. Graff, Maggie Haberman, Reyhan Harmanci, Virginia Heffernan, Matthew Hiltzik, Jena Janovy, Bomani Jones, Chris Jones, Peter Kafka, Paul Kix, Mina Kimes, Peter King, Michael Kruse, Tom Lamont, Edmund Lee, Chris Lehmann, Will Leitch, Jon Mackenzie, Glynnis MacNicol, Drew Magary, Erik Malinowski, Jonathan Martin, Betsy Fischer Martin, Susan McPherson, Ana Menendez, Kevin Merida, Heidi N. Moore, Eric Neel, Joe Nocera, Ashley R. Parker, Anne Helen Petersen, Jo Piazza, Joe Posnanski, S.L. Price, Jennifer Romolini, Julia Rubin, Albert Samaha, Bob Sassone, Bruce Schoenfeld, Michael Schur, Joe Sexton, Jacqui Shine, Rachel Sklar, Dan Shanoff, Ben Smith, Adam Sternbergh,Matt Sullivan, Wright Thompson, Pablo Torre, Kevin Van Valkenburg, Nikki Waller, John A. Walsh, Seth Wickersham and Karen Wickre.
You can read more about our staff, and contact us (we'd love to hear from you!) on our website: sundaylongread.blog. Help pick next week's selections by tweeting us your favorite stories with #SundayLR. Read this email in your browser.
