This is your periodic reminder that we're actively seeking pitches: essays of all types, reading lists, and reported features (oh my)! Details here:

"But as difficult and expensive as it will be for US allies to escape the enshittification of American power—it will be much harder for Americans to do so, as that power is increasingly turned against them." @ANewman_forward, Henry Farrell, @wired.

"Now, in addition to 'my man Gary,' as she calls him, she has more than a hundred garden snails that she keeps and sells locally."—Dina Gachman for @TexasMonthly .

"He always told his own son that if he were to climb, he’d climb as an athlete, not a guide. If Nima was going to risk it all, he would risk it for his own dreams." —@thats_my_line for @NatGeo #longreads.

"I drove all over Georgia investigating places where people used to swim that faded from the map after integration: pools filled, lakes drained, beaches sliced into private properties.". Hannah S. Palmer for @earthislandjrnl:

"All I wanted to do, for my own satisfaction in writing down my observations, was to portray exactly the way these cows looked and what they did, black on green or white or tan, in the field. But maybe I was also relishing their freedom to make their choices." —Lydia Davis for.

"Improperly dressed, forty below zero will kill a man in about thirty minutes; he is likely past the point of rescue after fifteen." —Jeremy Thomas Gilmer for @thewalrus #longreads.

"According to Hewitt, this is one thing that distinguishes true perfectionism from a mere pursuit of excellence: reaching the goal never helps, whether it’s a top grade, a target weight, or a professional milestone." @lsjamison. @NewYorker .

"He had become wealthy and famous by unearthing other people’s secrets, but the man known as Sheridan Bruseaux was keeping a few of his own.". From the new @atavist, by Matthew Wolfe:

"Math became a kind of escape, a space that felt expansive when her daily life was not.". Kevin Hartnett for @quantamagazine:

"There are many more scams than before, and it is a growth industry. It is a great time to be a scammer." —Alexander Sammon for @Slate #longreads.

Congratulations to Jeni Gunn, who won the Audience Award with her piece for @macleans, “Confessions of the Working Poor.”.

5. “Maximalisma” —Lisa Russ Spaar for The American Scholar. “While hoarding can feel oppressive, Spaar’s reflections reframe it as something tender and artful: a means of noticing, honoring, and building a life.”.

4. “Notes on Bed Rest”. “This isn’t a plea for pity but an invitation: to step inside Russell’s apartment, feel the boredom, sit with the tension.” —Anna Russell for @NewYorker.

3. “What if Everything We Know About Sacagawea Is Wrong?”—@cwhe for @NYMag . “By the end of Cox’s story, nothing seems incontrovertible, and certainly not immovable.”.

2. “What Happened When I Tried to Replace Myself with ChatGPT in My English Classroom”–@piersgelly for @lithub. “I loved how Gelly approaches difficult AI questions with nuance and care.”.

1. “Dying for Gold: Who Killed the Miners of Buffelsfontein?” —Liam Taylor of 1843 Magazine. “Journalism like this—nimble reporting, unaffected prose, and the sole purpose of making sure the world knows—is so crucial.”.

In our weekly Top 5:. -Mining mortality.-Coach AI.-Saving Sacagawea.-Fighting time.-Honoring hoarding.

"Sometimes in the Valley, you realize that you are the only proof of life. Nothing is a ghost town if you are standing in it." —Devin Kelly for @outsidemagazine

"The Sacagawea found in the oral histories of the Hidatsas is both grander and humbler — more like a person, less like a symbol — than the one taught in schools." —@cwhe for @NYTmag

"I don’t leave the room when we take a timeout to draw up a final play; I pace, I cry, I rage, I wail. But I stay. I will watch the game through." #longreads. Our new reading list from Rachel Dlugatch—on the love of basketball—features stories from @TheSunMagazine, @lithub,.