I love long-form journalism. I love when someone sits on a subject for six months or multiple years and gets to know all the characters in a story. I like pulling out printed pages and letting the words marinate in my hands on a Sunday afternoon. Its why I pursued my bachelor’s degree in Miami, and its why I send this email early Saturday morning so folks can have interesting resources to better their lives on the weekend. 

These are the 10 best long-form articles I’ve ever read. Pro-tip, all these publications have a pay-wall after your first few articles. I click the link once, let the whole page load, then use the “Evernote” snippet tool to copy the entire article to my Evernote to read later. These are not articles you read on your phone. You need to sit and take a few hours for each one of these. 

  1. In the Kingdom of Big Sugar By Marie Brenner. Vanity Fair: Having lived in the Caribbean, I love any stories taking place here. The history of sugar in the Caribbean is wild, but there is not a lot of information about the modern-day industry. This touches on the wild, modern-day slavery happening in Florida in the industry, the intense Miami-based sugar Barrons, and the ties in corruption all the way to the Oval Office. 
  2. Was Email a Mistake by Cal Newport. Wired Magazine: Cal Newport is one of my favorite authors. He wrote the book, “So Good They Can’t Ignore You,” which is the single best book for anyone beginning a new career that exists, period. This long-form goes in-depth on the history and purpose of email and makes us question everything. He’s always well-researched and hold courageous opinions.
  3. The Tinkerings of Robert Royce by Tom Wolfe. Esquire Magazine: Tom Wolfe is probably the most famous long-form journalist of all time. He basically invented the genre. This work on one of Silicon Valley’s original founders is a masterpiece. He ties in the history of a small in Iowa, where a preacher wanted more than he should have,  to the overreaching nature of Silicon Valley. Its entertaining and spot on.
  4. Is Venture Capital Worth the Risk by Nathan Heller. New Yorker: Having worked for venture-backed companies that eventually failed, I’ve seen the ups and downs of companies flooded with capital. I’ll never forget the huge parties and pig roasts at the tech startup I worked at, followed a month later by a layoff of 1/3 of the company. Nathan Heller goes in-depth and gets how VC money works, and this explained everything for me. 
  5. How to Manage Depression by Brett McKay. Art of Manliness: Brett McKay is the founder of The Art of Manliness. He’s a brilliant author and law-school graduate. He goes in-depth on depression and his own experience. There are limitless resources in this article I found helpful on my own journey.
  6. Monstruo by Junot Diaz. New Yorker: This isn’t really a research article. This is fiction, but it is short and a masterpiece. This is a short story about a group of Dominican friends and the impending monster coming from “black Haiti”. What Junot Diaz does so well, as Dominican himself, is explore the differences between cultural stereotypes for Dominicans and educated, upper-class Dominicans. His writing can be a model for exploring any culture and identifying the true culture drivers within that culture rather than focusing on the poor or negative stereotypes from that culture. 
  7. How Latin America Influenced the Entire Catholic Church by Hossfman Ospino. American Magazine: In light of the first pope from Latin American, I was fascinated by the history of theological thought that created Pope Francis. This is the best long-form I found on the influences that created his theological thinking.
  8. It’s the Economy Dummkopf by Michael Lewis. Vanity Fair: Michael Lewis is the reason I got into long-form journalism. He is noted by numerous authors as the greatest writer of our time. He became famous for his book, Liar’s Poker, in which he wrote of his time as a bonds salesman for Saloman Brothers. In this longform article, he explores the economy through the viewpoint of German-American relations, and why the fate of the European economy always ends up in the German’s hands. He is entertaining and thoughtful.
  9. How NBA Executive Jeff David Stole $13 Million From The Sacramento Kings by Kevin Arnovitz. ESPN Magazine: Okay, this story is WILD… You don’t have to be a basketball fan, into the sales profession, or from Sacramento to appreciate this. This guy is now in jail for stealing $13 million over years from a tier2 NBA franchise. What the author does so masterfully, is tie in the broader NBA, celebrity culture with the ‘regular guys’ working jobs around them. There are scenes I’ll never forget from this article, like Jeff David, who makes little money as a salesperson for the Kings, attending an event with various Billionaire owners and living in jealousy.
  10. How Black Lives Matter Is Changing the Church by Elisa Griswold. New Yorker: This is the most important issue in Christianity today. Its exposed the deep sins in evangelical Christianity, where I grew up and continue to practice my faith. This article is hard to read because of how badly eveanglicals have done in this area of standing with black Americans, but its real and true.

If you enjoyed this content, subscribe here to my newsletter to receive future articles.