Longreads

Support for the death penalty is at its lowest in 50 years. And yet, in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis is overseeing a surge in executions “with no obvious overarching logic,” his rationale shielded by executive privilege. Pamela Colloff counters his silence with a vigilant chorus of execution opponents, a haunted former warden, and a Catholic priest whose ministry increasing...

Pop music critic Amanda Petrusich lost her husband suddenly in 2022. For The New Yorker, she attempts to outline the shapes of her grief and recounts the one thing that helped her move forward: E.M.D.R. (eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing) therapy, which involves repeatedly reliving the events of the trauma in order to become desensitized to it.

On the occasion of the United States’ 250th birthday, Mychal Denzel Smith looks back at the bicentennial. In 1976, the government worked overtime to sell myths of inclusivity, equality, and progress to Americans. But in 2026, the regime in power isn’t interested in myths:

Nothing about the second Trump regime feels surreal. We have passed the point at which the ab...

For The Ringer, Alan Siegel pays tribute to the Costco hot dog, still $1.50 at the food court, a price that’s held steady since the ’80s and is unlikely to increase. Siegel digs into why Costco hasn’t changed the deal, and why it still works. This is a festive (if belated) Fourth of July read, and a welcome addition to a growing collection of editors’ picks about Cos...