The Top 5 Longreads of the Week

Below, our favorite stories of the week.

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1. The Writer Who Was Too Strong To Live

Dave McKenna | Deadspin | Oct. 28, 2016 | 37 minutes (9,445 words)

A heartbreaking story on alcoholism and a superstar sports journalist. Jennifer Frey soon disappeared from the business, and died earlier this year.

2. I Went Undercover With a Border Militia. Here’s What I Saw.

Shane Bauer | Mother Jones | Oct. 25, 2016 | 58 minutes (14,654 words)

Bauer goes on a border operation with a paramilitary group to get a firsthand look at the growing militia movement in the U.S.

3. The Other Sister

Ciara O'Rourke | Seattle Met | Oct. 27, 2016 | 16 minutes (4,127 words)

A moving personal essay by Ciara O'Rourke about preparing for a future in which she is the primary caregiver for her sister, who is living with autism.

4. Eight Women in Love

Shawn Wen | n+1 | Oct. 17, 2016 | 11 minutes (2,834 words)

“When she met him, she was holding a bowl of tabbouleh. He wasn’t famous at the time. Just a promising upstart in the Ba’ath party. And she liked everything about him from the start. His blue silk suit. His golden eyes.” The women left in the wake of eight of modern history’s worst despots.

5. Why Pop Culture Just Can’t Deal With Black Male Sexuality

Wesley Morris | New York Times | Oct. 27, 2016 | 24 minutes (6,244 words)

Wesley Morris takes on American culture’s deep, all-abiding fear of the black penis and “America’s dubious assumptions about the sexual prowess of black men.”

from Longreads https://blog.longreads.com/2016/10/28/the-top-5-longreads-of-the-week-142/