Thanks for taking the time to read this week's SLR, featuring excellent writing/reporting by @kylemacneill.bsky.social, @jonathanmahler.bsky.social, @danielrensch.chess.com, @dwallacewells.bsky.social & more mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Venus flytraps are native to an 80-mile stretch of North and South Carolina, but developers are threatening their survival. Luckily, a 78-year-old botanist is working to protect them. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite by Lindsey Liles in @gardenandgun.com gardenandgun.com/feature/venu...

What better evidence do we need that the scammers coming for us are becoming increasingly sophisticated than a journalist whose beat is scams nearly getting scammed? @dvnjr.bsky.social's top pick by Michael Wilson for @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/n...

Scam, flytrap, war on cancer & more in this week's SLR mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

"Hannah Dreier and @rubycramer.bsky.social's latest pieces bring human scale drama to often-difficult-to-grasp discussions of wildfires and immigration, full of details you could nearly reach out and touch." - @jacobfeldman.bsky.social on his top picks

Check out this week's SLR featuring @rubycramer.bsky.social, @ianwardreports.bsky.social, @jonathanblitzer.bsky.social, @sethwickersham.bsky.social & more! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

The final night of tech billionaire Mike Lynch’s life has become just another chew toy for online conspiracy theorists. With sweeping reporting and soaring story-telling, Bradley Hope avoids all the easy (and wrong) answers. @dvnjr.bsky.social's top pick via @wired.com www.wired.com/story/mike-l...

A sea disaster, Charlie Kirk, zodiac signs & more in this week's SLR mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Check out guest editor Katherine Laidlaw's SLR featuring @mckinneykelsey.bsky.social, @violazhou.bsky.social, @ellyfishman.bsky.social, @c-cauterucci.bsky.social & more mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

"Platters stacked with cash, thieves making off with priceless pigeons in the night, wronged fanciers and devoted detectives. This crime caper has everything I could ask for in a story." -Guest editor Katherine Laidlaw's pick by Kevin Sieff @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

We're honored to hand today's edition over to guest editor Katherine Laidlaw. By day, she writes on business for The Hustle newsletter and by night on crime, gender, nature, and more for magazines like WIRED, Toronto Life, & Outside. Enjoy! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Our latest true crime spotlight, carefully curated monthly by author Kim Cross and The Sunday Long Read staff, is out -- don't miss it! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

What is it about Hampton Inn that makes it one of the most popular hotel chains in America? The waffle? The lamp placement? Behind the Story’s Amanda Ulrich talks to Bloomberg’s Patrick Clark to get his perspective. sundaylongread.com/podcast/

As Americans take some of their last summer vacations this Labor Day weekend, journalist Patrick Clark digs into everything from Hampton Inn’s “good-enough” business formula to the perceived value of a free hotel breakfast. sundaylongread.com/podcast/

In our latest Behind the Story, Amanda Ulrich chats with @bloomberg.com's Patrick Clark about one of his latest articles: a deep dive into the hotel chain Hampton Inn, and why its reputation as being "rigorously OK” has led, unexpectedly, to world domination. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Don't miss this week's SLR featuring @henrymceric.bsky.social, @harleyrustad.com‬, @kevinmaurer.bsky.social, @tomjunod.bsky.social & more! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

The best food journalism doubles as economics reporting, or cultural snapshot, or revealing profile. Tim Prudente serves up all of that and more in @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's pick this week www.thebanner.com/economy/mary...

Two quarterbacks played a half century apart. With his trademark lyrical prose, @tomjunod.bsky.social unspools the tragic stories of Jay Kutner and Caden Tellier, bound together by the game, forever. @dvnjr.bsky.social's favorite this week www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/...

Football tragedy, crabs, mercy man & more in this week's SLR. mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Check out this week's SLR featuring @riquier.bsky.social, @danwetzel.bsky.social‬, @jeffhorwitz.bsky.social‬, @dhruvkhullar.bsky.social‬, @charlottetklein.bsky.social‬, @epcalabro.bsky.social & more mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

In @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's top pick this week, @royinori.bsky.social gets her hands dirty (literally) to explore the world of worm hunting. thelocal.to/ontario-nigh...

Medical Assistance in Dying—or MAID—now accounts for roughly one in 20 deaths in Canada. In @dvnjr.bsky.social's top pick, @epcalabro.bsky.social explores seemingly every corner of “the world’s fastest-growing euthanasia regime." www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Worm hunters, missing journalist, doodlemania & more in this week's SLR: mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Should military bases have slot machines? Apparently it's a topic of significant debate going back to 1951 legislation banning gambling devices from domestic bases. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite by @mollylongman.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/us-mil...

Can death be postponed by decades and, even, perhaps, become… optional? Stupendously wealthy investors and future-casting biohackers are betting on it. @dvnjr.bsky.social's fave this week by @tadfriend.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

We’ve got exciting news to kick off Issue #501. With the effects of climate change increasingly apparent, we’re proud to introduce a new regular feature of The SLR: “Climate Corner,” curated by Nick Aster mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Happy Sunday! Live Forever, Military Slots, Math Mystery & More in this week's SLR. Check it out: mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Ms. Rachel is widely known as the Mister Rogers of our era. She has 16 million subscribers on YouTube and more than 10 billion views. But don’t stop there, keep reading, there’s more. One of @dvnjr.bsky.social & @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's faves this week www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/in...

Yes, the future of the United States government was very much influenced by the decisions of a 23-year-old from Lincoln, Nebraska. But there is much more to the Luke Farritor story. One of @jacobfeldman.bsky.social & @dvnjr.bsky.social's top picks via @bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/features/202...

In honor of our 500th edition, we're offering a 50% discount on yearly SLR membership. Sign up today to get bonus issues throughout the year, Saturday evening delivery of the weekly newsletter for more reading time, and our deep appreciation. sundaylongread.memberful.com/checkout?cou...

Happy Sunday! Today, we celebrate our 500th edition. Thank you for your reading. Your support drives us to continue publishing a longform journalism newsletter that is best in its class. Please enjoy! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

The topics covered in this story couldn’t be more, well, heady. But @rachelaviv.bsky.social wisely grounds all of the mind-frying discussion in a miraculous, painful journey of one mother and her two kids' hunt for answers. Top pick this week. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

The secret history of the horrors endured by laborers on the German automaker’s hidden cattle ranch deep in the Brazilian Amazon. Little did anyone know, a priest recorded everything. One of our favorites this week by @terrencemccoy.bsky.social & Marina Dias www.washingtonpost.com/world/intera...

Volkswagen’s secret, underrated books, Epstein & more in this week's SLR. Thanks so much for making time to read! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

In one of @dvnjr.bsky.social's picks this week, Benjamin Weiser carefully unspools the saga that ties together a father's death in Vermont, a drug war in the Bronx, the international pathways of heroin, and an attorney's fight to right a series of wrongs. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/n...

"I remember the first time I visited Texas. The sky was so big, beautiful, bursting with bustle... This lyrical, loving ode to the state’s limitless heavens, by Ian Dille, rushed me back to that moment." One of @dvnjr.bsky.social picks texashighways.com/outdoors/the...

An attempt to subjugate nature to the desire of one man (41-year-old but ageless Argentinian polo player) is threatened by the secret business ambitions of another (third-generation oil-and-gas Texan) @jacobfeldman.bsky.social's favorite by @mattreynolds.bsky.social www.wired.com/story/clonin...

Morning! Thanks so much for carving out time to read—we're all going to be better off for it. And don't forget to mention The SLR at your next barbecue. These stories only get better when you have someone to discuss them with; trust us, we have you! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

‪Check out this week's SLR, guest edited by @alecmac.bsky.social and including writers like @freshparsley.bsky.social‬, @ichotiner.bsky.social, @chatterton.bsky.social + more mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Public libraries have come to serve increasingly as a daytime waystation for unhoused people. Zac Bissonnette's piece takes an unusually unflinching look at this new reality, linking it to a decline in library visits. Guest editor @alecmac.bsky.social's top pick www.thefp.com/p/the-death-...

Morning! We're thrilled to hand today's edition over to guest editor @alecmac.bsky.social, a reporter for ProPublica and the author of “Fulfillment: America in the Shadow of Amazon” and “The Cynic: The Political Education of Mitch McConnell.” mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Check out this week's SLR, guest edited by Jo Piazza and featuring writers like ‪@henrywismayer.bsky.social, @sam-apple.bsky.social, @louisathomas.bsky.social‬, & more mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

In guest editor Jo Piazza's top pick, Emma Goldberg interviews the young women who turned out in droves for Turning Point USA’s Young Women’s Leadership conference. ‪@nytimes.com‬ www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/s...

Hello! We're thrilled to hand today's edition over to guest editor Jo Piazza, a bestselling author and podcast creator. Her latest novel is Everyone Is Lying To You, a juicy thriller about tradwife influencers dismantling the patriarchy. Enjoy her picks! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Don't miss this week's SLR featuring @tchristianmiller.bsky.social‬, @susandominus.bsky.social‬, ‪@chafkin.bsky.social‬, @greenwell.bsky.social‬, @joon.bsky.social‬ & more! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

“Can someone really get away with stealing 280,000 eggs?” An irresistible caper for our times—a bold heist of America’s top egg producer, followed by a ransom note. @jacobfeldman.bsky.social & @dvnjr.bsky.social's favorite by Jenn Abelson & Jessica Contrera www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Morning! Read about an egg heist, MS-13, luxury fitness & more in this week's SLR mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

Don't miss guest editor @lukerussert.bsky.social's SLR featuring @jeremygordon.bsky.social‬, @anandian.bsky.social‬, @annabauman.bsky.social‬, @gilduran.com‬ & more mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...

In guest editor @lukerussert.bsky.social's top pick, @jeremygordon.bsky.social defends the “Wife Guy" and proclaims the power of vulnerability–kudos to him! www.theatlantic.com/family/archi...

Happy Father's Day! This week's SLR is guest edited by @lukerussert.bsky.social, bestselling author of “Look For Me There" and host/creative director of "MSNBC Live." Enjoy his picks! mailchi.mp/sundaylongre...