
Ask HN: What periodicals have great long-form articles? - baconomatic
I really enjoy reading articles like these:<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.newyorker.com&#x2F;magazine&#x2F;2017&#x2F;01&#x2F;02&#x2F;a-bigger-problem-than-isis<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wired.com&#x2F;2008&#x2F;02&#x2F;ff-seacowboys&#x2F;
======
matthewmcg
I'd recommend subscribing to the New Yorker. You're supporting great writing
and there's enough incredible pieces in the archives for a lifetime of
reading.

For example, John Hersey's piece "Hiroshima"[1] is perhaps one of the most
consequential pieces of 20th century long-form journalism and also an
engrossing read. It was later published as a short book.

[1]:
[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima?intc...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1946/08/31/hiroshima?intcid=mod-
most-popular)

~~~
olympus
I'll offer a counter opinion. I subscribed to the New Yorker for almost a
year. The New Yorker leans hard left politically and it was really tiring. I
consider myself a moderate progressive and got tired of the condescending tone
that most writers used against any person or group that wasn't like them. I
feel like it's okay to have an opinion that's different than mine but you
don't need to ridicule other people and shove it down their throats
constantly. The majority of the articles they published were political.

There were the occasional gems but not enough to justify me continuing my
subscription and wading through each issue. The good stories show up on
longform.org anyway.

~~~
tdubhro1
I cancelled my subscription after enduring about a year of issues dominated by
articles on gun control and anti-Trump. There is the occasional gem but as a
European, living in Europe, the editorial policy became monotonous and lacking
self-awareness. Oh and they never miss an opportunity to use the word
coordinate.

~~~
deisner
I think you meant to say "coördinate". :^) I've been a subscriber for almost
two decades now. If I had to subscribe to just one magazine, The New Yorker
would be it.

The article I'm currently reading:
[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/reddit-and-
the...](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/03/19/reddit-and-the-struggle-
to-detoxify-the-internet)

------
viksit
Longreads.org is a great aggregator for these.

 _The Atlantic

_ Vice

 _The Economist

_ Vox has a few really good ones

 _Nautilus (for science)

_ Vanity fair

Caravan magazine is another (with a focus on Indian culture and arts)

Edit: formatting and more titles as I remember them.

~~~
gxs
[https://longform.org/](https://longform.org/) is a similar aggregator, just
to sharing.

------
sleavey
I recommend The Guardian Long Reads:

[https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/the-long-
read](https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/the-long-read)

~~~
makmanalp
I discovered that they also have a podcast which is very nice.

------
makmanalp
I also enjoy [http://nautil.us/](http://nautil.us/) and
[https://www.quantamagazine.org/](https://www.quantamagazine.org/) for science
/ math stuff.

------
at_smith
While stretching most definitions of "periodical", Wait But Why
[https://waitbutwhy.com/](https://waitbutwhy.com/) is one of my favorites!

------
abhirag
I'd recommend London Review of Books
([https://www.lrb.co.uk/](https://www.lrb.co.uk/))

~~~
rsync
It is my favorite periodical of any kind. Great medium and long form articles
on current events and social commentary, etc.

Also, long-running inside jokes and banter in the letters section which I
enjoy.

------
maxxxxx
There is [https://longform.org/](https://longform.org/).

Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair often have good stuff.

------
theshadowmonkey
I started running a newsletter with 5 articles aggregated from sources like
these which I think have high signal:noise ratio. If you are interested,
please subscribe to the newsletter. I send out one with around 5 links.

This is the link to the archive: [https://us11.campaign-
archive.com/home/?u=e15cace0ed343f2c14...](https://us11.campaign-
archive.com/home/?u=e15cace0ed343f2c148202c23&id=05732985fa)

This is the link to subscribe:
[http://eepurl.com/dcfvJb](http://eepurl.com/dcfvJb)

I don't have any monetization strategy or don't plan on anything in near
future.

------
hprotagonist
\- Harpers (which might be effectively print-only?)

\- The New Yorker

\- Any of the <City> review of books: NY, London, Paris, and LA are good
places to start.

------
philip1209
I recommend The Information - they publish the only tech articles that I
consistently read:
[https://www.theinformation.com](https://www.theinformation.com)

(note: it's a paid site)

------
kiliantics
Further left than the other recommendations but The Baffler has very high
quality articles, though sometimes highly polemic. Also some of the content in
Jacobin magazine, they have some great writers.

------
matt_the_bass
For technical discussion of financial issues, I really like the long articles
by Bloomberg’s Matt Levine[0]. Note he regularly writes short pieces almost
every day. But his longer articles come out 1-3 times a month.

[0]
[https://www.bloomberg.com/view/contributors/ARbTQlRLRjE/matt...](https://www.bloomberg.com/view/contributors/ARbTQlRLRjE/matthew-
s-levine/articles)

------
sdpurtill
I’d highly recommend n+1: [https://nplusonemag.com/](https://nplusonemag.com/)

Some of the most thought provoking long-form articles out there.

------
Zezima
The Economist’s Special Reports are amazing and worth the read!

------
whitepoplar
Lapham's Quarterly

~~~
banku_brougham
Right on. Fascinating explorations of diverse subjects.

------
erikig
Sometimes the medium is just as important as the content and for this I've
come to love the Texture app.

It isn't absolutely perfect but when it comes to consuming magazines like The
Atlantic, Harper's Bazaar, Dwell, Mother Jones etc it is pretty great.

------
chad_strategic
I used to read Vanity Fair. I thought they had great long form articles. But
about 14 years ago they put Paris Hilton on the cover and since then I haven't
returned to the magazine. It sounds like the New Yorker is a hit here...

------
mikeelgan
The top three (in my book) are The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Vanity Fair.

------
qntty
Check out [https://www.aldaily.com/](https://www.aldaily.com/) for a hand-
picked aggregation of articles related to arts and politics

------
killjoywashere
You want, exactly, all the magazines and newspapers and blogs in the sidebar
of [https://aldaily.com/](https://aldaily.com/)

------
mikeelgan
The New Yorker, The Atlantic and Vanity Fair are the top three.

------
greatestdana
The Economist

~~~
tootie
The Economist is required reading to understand current events the world over,
but their specialty is very short form.

~~~
erikig
I agree - I'm always in awe of their ability to boil down a complex issue into
an comprehensible tidbit that makes it easy to consume and track.

------
DrImplausible
I've been liking the material at [https://aeon.co/](https://aeon.co/) for a
while now.

------
levthedev
California Sunday is my favorite.

[https://californiasunday.com](https://californiasunday.com)

------
niij
[https://magazine.atavist.com/](https://magazine.atavist.com/)

------
Fricken
Harper's.

[https://youtu.be/RGGrvn44LNA](https://youtu.be/RGGrvn44LNA)

------
Cenk
I recommend [https://longform.org](https://longform.org)

------
antinomy
The New Yorker and NYRB have already been mentioned; they'd be my top two.

In terms of less mainstream sources, for thought-provoking long-form pieces
mostly arising out of an economic justice perspective, I'd suggest Current
Affairs.

[https://www.currentaffairs.org](https://www.currentaffairs.org)

And though it isn't a periodical, for long, smart pieces on sociology,
history, economics, contemporary society, etc., I'd suggest Slate Star Codex.

i.e. [http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-
moloch](http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch)

Oh, and if you're interested in literature, which more broadly extends to
culture throughout the decades, then the Paris Review has an incredible
tradition of long-form interviews.

[https://www.theparisreview.org](https://www.theparisreview.org)

------
folli
For science-related articles, I'd recommend Science and Nature.

~~~
onychomys
Speaking here as a scientist, I wouldn't. That's for a couple of reasons:

1\. They're really, really expensive. 2\. They're extremely technical, and
you're unlikely to know enough about all the various fields that publish in
them to be able to read through them cover to cover. And if you're only
reading a single article, why pay that really expensive cost? 3\. They have
the reputation of publishing what's sexy, not what's necessarily well done.
They've published some crappy science over the years just because they'll get
a lot of attention for it.

Instead, I'd recommend American Scientist[0], which is today what Scientific
American was 30 years ago, while Scientific American has become what Discover
was 30 years ago. It's well written for a general audience while still
covering a wide range of subjects, and it's reasonably priced.

[0][https://www.americanscientist.org](https://www.americanscientist.org)

~~~
folli
I agree with #1, although if you're associated with a university, you will
most likely have access to it.

I strongly disagree with #2, their news and opinions section is usually top-
notch, well written and understandable (e.g. an article about physics is
written to be comprehensible for a biologist, who usually has no more
knowledge about the matter than any other layman).

#3 might be true, however this even more so for any other, less science-
focused, news-outlet, where "sexiness" matters even more to attract a less
science minded audience.

------
pandyroddick
The Economist Christmas Double Issue

------
busterarm
IEEE Spectrum

