'Still buckled in, crushed to death'

Hi 👋 

Welcome back to The Lazy Reader, where we read some of the best longform stories from across the web ✨

Pulitzers came out last week. I’m still making my way through the winners (it’s taking a while, since I’m sniffly and still swamped at work), but I’ve decided against including the winners and finalists in these emails. I know you’re all capable enough of going through the Pulitzer lists and pick out the most interesting ones for yourself. I’m happy to keep bringing buried and mostly forgotten longform stories back into your radars.

But let me know: Would you want me to include at least a few of my favorites from this year’s Pulitzer batch? I’m open to it, of course.

Some choice picks from last week’s email:

As always, please let me know what you think of the list this week by voting in the poll below.

Happy reading and see you again next Monday!

This series is an old investigation that involves a company that isn’t readily recognizable to me. But while the story isn’t as pressing as it could be, that doesn’t really diminish how compelling it is. To me, that’s a hallmark of a good investigative piece.

The Tampa Bay Times here sets its sights on trucking company GardaWorld, which in the years leading up to the publication has gone on an aggressive campaign to expand its operations, eventually roping in some of the biggest banks to be its clients. In the process, however, GardaWorld has grown negligent, often allowing poorly maintained vehicles to hit the road, used by poorly trained drivers. The company has also failed to implement proper security measures over its facilities.

The result has been catastrophic for its bank clients—which contract GardaWorld to store hundreds of thousands of dollars—and for the broader public. GardaWorld’s negligence has, quite literally, killed.

The Girl, the Con Man, and the Massage Parlor King | TexasMonthly, $

This story is from 1976, likely making it one of the earliest examples of True Crime longform—and still it ranks among the best in the genre.

The prose here doesn’t betray the fact that it’s been written almost half a century ago, and the reportage, at least from what I can tell, puts many of its contemporaries to shame. The research here must have been impressively thorough to get to the level of detail that this story has, and while it might be difficult to stay on top of the names and events (if you read in short bursts like I do), the story still doesn’t get impossibly convoluted.

The Hipster Grifter | Observer, Free

This story felt like a throwback to me because it reads a lot like a BuzzFeed News article. That’s not exactly a bad thing.

The piece follows the trail of lies and upheaval that one pathological liar left in her wake. She has sweet-talked her way into the bedrooms and wallets of many men, and has duped still more people to do her bidding. It’s interesting that she falls back on the usual lies that other con artists do: sickness, a history of abuse, self-harm. There’s not really a big moral here, or at least none that I can readily see. It’s just a nice read overall.

Deliver Us, Lord, From the Startup Life | WIRED, $

This one is difficult for me. The story ran in 2020, which is important context to keep in the back of your head. It follows the growth of Christians as a demographic in tech circles. The piece points out interesting parallels between the two, particularly the fervor (and sometimes blind faith) that both zealously religious people share with those steeped in startup culture.

But overall, the article takes a positive spin on this Christian phenomenon. Having more of the faithful in the industry, so the argument goes, could help make tech more humane, less cutthroat—kinder to everyone involved. Interesting to see how differently things turned out six years later.

A Deadly Bacteria is Creeping Up the Atlantic Coast. How Worried Should You Be? | Grist, Free

Another difficult one for me personally. I loved this when I first read it: Great science angle on the climate crisis, expert execution and a hook that is both sensational but not overblown to the point of misrepresentation. The piece also tackles some economy matters lower in the story, looking at how these flesh-eating bacteria (and the negative press they generate) affect local businesses. Really good piece of science writing.

But I dunno. The more I sit on it and let it stew in my head, the more it seems… flat. Maybe there’s something there that I’m only picking up subconsciously, or maybe it’s that I’ve thought about the story too much. Don’t let me sway you away from it, though: Give it a read and see for yourself.

I loved this essay. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but the candid honesty of Sean Flynn here disarmed me, and the way he doesn’t take himself too seriously is refreshing (crime reporters are known to be a bit too uptight, after all).

The humorous relationship between Flynn and his animals makes this a very fun and light-hearted read. And even if the peacocks here were mostly used for headline bait—to get you to click; Flynn’s three peacocks don’t take center stage here much—it doesn’t feel at all like I was tricked into reading something I didn’t want to.

There are profound messages at the center of this story, having something to do about keeping your work life separate from the rest of yourself, leaving your professional baggage at the office. Parenthood and the need to be mindful about our language. The beauty of having sentient, non-human companions. And likely a few others that I’m missing.

It’s on you, I think, to figure out how you’ll allow the essay to resonate with you. In the meantime, enjoy it for the fun experience that it is.

Thanks for reading! Please, please reach out if you have feedback, suggestions, or questions. Alternatively, you can fill out this super quick survey form. I promise it won’t even take five minutes of your time, and it’ll be a HUGE help!

ALSO: I know some of the stories I recommend might be behind paywalls, and maybe I can help you with access to those. Send me a message and let’s see what we can do 😊

Until next Monday! 👋