For Granta, Momtaza Mehri reflects on the life and legacy of Sinéad O’Connor, on the first anniversary of the singer songwriter’s death. I suppose that’s why I’ve always been in awe of O’Connor as a musician and a daughter. In publicly exorcising the mother-daughter relationship, she obliterates the hyphen at the cost of her sanity. There’s...

In this week’s Top 5: • A woman who survived the unimaginable • Whether a school shooter’s parents are legally liable • A mother’s ordeal, a son’s journey • The reality of an autism diagnosis in your 40s • The massive, marvelous ecosystem living in the earth’s crust 1. Emma Carey: The Skydiver Who Survived a 14,000-foot Fall Ryan...

Eleven years ago, Emma Carey survived falling 14,000 feet to the ground after a tandem skydive went horribly wrong. For ESPN, Ryan Hockensmith recounts the story and the aftermath, highlighting Carey’s incredible courage and sheer determination in the face of disaster. She soars for the first half-minute, soaking in her first skydive. About...

In 2022, a new Bitcoin mining facility made its home in Granbury, a small rural Texas town. The center’s computers, running 24/7, are cooled by thousands of fans, also running constantly. “As more machines were switched on,” writes Andrew R. Chow, “the noise sounded like a ceiling fan, then a leaf blower, then a jet engine.” Granbury’s residents of...

This story was funded by our members. Join Longreads and help us to support more writers. Diana Saverin | Longreads | July 25, 2024 | (4,088 words) 1. An old boyfriend, let’s call him K, used to tease me, saying I wouldn’t make a very good meal—“not enough fat.” He might have been talking about himself, though. He was...

Thirty-seven years ago, Ryan Nourai’s mother was kidnapped, brutalized, and shot in the head. She would go on to have a son, with whom she shared some—if not all—of what she had endured. Now, after her death, Nourai writes how he came back to her ordeal, tracing her steps and even tracking down the men responsible. A tough read at times, but a tender...