You Love a Long Read

A guest post from The Sunday Long Read

Hi friends,

You may have noticed that this year’s Bingo card includes a long-form article (in one of those coveted corner spots!). I love in-depth, deeply reported journalism and regularly have eight tabs of stories I’m meaning to get to.

If you’re looking for something to complete that Bingo box, my friends at The Sunday Long Read are here to help. Over the last 12 years, The Sunday Long Read has curated more than 10,000 pieces of stand-out journalism, the perfect reading material when you want a (relatively) quick fix of fascinating, entertaining writing. Here are a few of The SLR's most popular picks from 2026 so far. You can sign up here (it's free) to receive their selections every Sunday

And, now, what to read if …

You’re Fascinated by Family Secrets

You Can Run by Barry Meier, The Atavist Magazine

Two sisters, Erin and Meredith, grew up wealthy and privileged in the Pittsburgh suburbs during the early Reagan era. They attended private schools, rode horses and enjoyed lavish vacations with their glamorous parents. Then one day in 1984, the sisters—one 13, the other 10—found themselves in a cheap Ontario motel room when their mother delivered the stunning news: We’re never going home. You can’t say goodbye to your friends. The charmed life you know… ends now.

The IRS had accused their father of failing to pay his taxes, the sisters’ mother explained. Over the next 18 months, Meredith and Erin and their parents crisscrossed the globe—London, Mallorca, Panama City, Vancouver—trying to outrun federal government agents. The sisters grew up on the lam, and for a very long time, they had no idea why.

It wasn’t until many years later that Meredith and Erin discovered the truth about their father—truths hidden in two battered boxes that had been stored in their family home’s basement. One day, the sisters’ mother called to announce that she had dumped those boxes curbside to be hauled away soon by trash collectors.

A gripping story by investigative reporter Barry Meier.

You’re Still Watching “Grey’s Anatomy”

90 Minutes to Give Baby Luna a New Heart by Simar Bajaj, The New York Times Magazine

A riveting, up-close story about Dr. Maureen McKiernan’s debut as the lead surgeon on an infant’s heart transplant. With spare prose, Simar Bajaj takes us inside every astonishing moment as Dr. McKiernan saves six-month-old Baby Luna’s life—“an operation on the ragged edge of what’s possible.”

Reader Jaime Aron calls this piece “amazing—a terrific idea, perfectly executed. Should be discussed in journalism classes. I say all this in both awe and jealousy.” I couldn’t agree more.

If You’re Willing to Be Devastated (and Outraged)

The Death of a Superman by Paul Collins, The Believer

Shoe-leather investigation meets empathetic human storytelling in this heartbreaking study of the deadly dangers lurking in innocuous donation bins.

Why is the problem being ignored? Perhaps most upsettingly, I think we all know the answer.

You’re Curious About the Lives of the Billionaire Elite

What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat by Noah Hawley for The Atlantic

Back in 2018, TV showrunner (“Fargo,” “Alien: Earth”) and novelist Noah Hawley and his family spent a weekend cavorting among the obscenely wealthy at Jeff Bezos’ Campfire retreat in Santa Barbara, California. “Even the weather felt expensive,” Hawley writes, “and when we were shown to our rooms, the designer gift bags we found were filled with luxury goods.”

Without spoiling too much, the gilded-boondoggle weekend didn’t end as promising as it began: “My wife broke her wrist slipping on wet grass, and both children and I came down with hand, foot, and mouth disease. This is not a joke. One of us went home with her arm in a sling; the other three developed itchy, painful red blisters all over our faces and extremities. If you’re looking for a sign from God as to whether hanging out with the richest man on Earth is right for you, pay attention when he sends you not one plague, but two.”

A captivating essay about how the world’s wealthiest men have taken flight from rules and consequences. We bet you’ll enjoy Hawley’s eat-the-rich romp in Bezos’ VIP hideaway as much as this diabolically delicious performance in “Fargo,” season 1.

You Have a Favorite Aldi Product*

The Curious Cult of Aldi by Deena Shanker & Tim Loh, Bloomberg

There’s no bakery in an Aldi. Nobody bagging your food. Not even music. But all that cost-cutting lets the German grocery chain offer lower prices—and for an increasing number of U.S. shoppers, that’s more than enough.

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Thanks to Jacob Feldman and the team at The Sunday Long Read for the recs.

*Mine is their animal crackers. They have a hint of lemon.

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