Long Lead

"A particular kind of masochistic joy": Jelani Cobb on what it feels like to be a journalist The author, New Yorker writer, and dean of Columbia Journalism School witnesses journalism from all sides.

For @longlead.com Depth Perception, I interviewed @columbiajournalism.bsky.social dean and @newyorker.com staff writer @jelaniya.bsky.social about his growth as a writer, some recent controversies at Columbia, and why he considers J-school perhaps more important than ever.

Sports Illustrated's Forgotten Pioneer In the Mad Men era of magazine journalism, Virginia Kraft was a globe-trotting writer and a deadly shot with a rifle. Why hasn't anyone heard of her?

Among the most important sports journalists of her time, Virginia Kraft chiseled early cracks into publishing’s male-dominated world. So why hasn’t anyone heard of her?

Learn more at THE CATCH: thecatch.longlead.com

She Dove to Escape Grief—And Became One of the World’s Greatest Athletes Embracing her pain, Alenka Artnik pushes the limits of the human body, on just one breath.

THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH recounts how freediver Alenka Artnik emerged from obscurity and mental health struggles to become one of the world’s most elite athletes. thedepths.longlead.com

Powerlifter Anna Kurkurina’s Rescue Mission for War-Torn Pets Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this champion weightlifter has saved and sheltered countless injured and orphaned animals.

Amidst the chaos of Russia's war on Ukraine, record-setting powerlifter Anna Kurkurina has rescued and rehomed countless of injured and unhoused pets that have been left to scavenge the war-torn streets.

3 photo graphic showing Anna Kurkurina petting two dogs in the streets of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, a photo of Alenka Artnik freediving, and a photo of sports journalist Virginia Kraft on safari

Women's history month is all about celebrating strong women and the challenges they've had to overcome.

Long Lead's features THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH, LIFTING UKRAINE, and THE CATCH focus on women who have broken barriers, overcoming personal struggles to achieve their goals.

Newsletters - Long Lead <p>Long Lead’s in-depth journalism takes more time to report, write, and produce. Stay in touch with us between productions by subscribing to our free newsletters.</p>

Our next feature is out later this month.

Subscribe to the LONG LEAD newsletter to be the first to know when it's out: longlead.com/newsletters

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Long Lead's features span across mediums, earning awards from the Edward R. Murrow for best podcast to Webby and Signal awards for our photo essays.

Visit Long Lead's site to experience more.
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"A particular kind of masochistic joy": Jelani Cobb on what it feels like to be a journalist The author, New Yorker writer, and dean of Columbia Journalism School witnesses journalism from all sides.

For DEPTH PERCEPTION, @markyarm.bsky.social discusses with Cobb about his growth as a writer, some recent controversies at Columbia, and why he considers journalism school perhaps more important than ever.

Read now: depthperception.longlead.com/p/new-yorker...

Headshot of journalist Jelani Cobb with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and text: "There’s a particular kind of enjoyment that comes from getting lost in a story. And that doesn’t really happen until, like, the 3,000-word mark. Maybe it’s a dying pleasure, because the economics and the attention economy have pushed toward everything being much more succinct." —Jelani Cobb, Historian and Columbia Journalism School Dean

When reflecting on how it feels to be a journalist, Columbia Journalism School Dean @jelaniya.bsky.social refers to it as a “particular kind of masochistic joy.”

It's this joy that keeps him coming back while balancing being a staff writer at The New Yorker, a dean, and working on his new book.

The Last Drops of Mexico City One of the world’s most populated cities may run out of drinking water in the near future. Scenes from the parched megalopolis show how water scarcity could one day impact cities around the globe.

Learn more by reading THE LAST DROPS OF MEXICO CITY, a Long Lead and Magnum Photos collaboration. Read it today: mexicocitywater.longlead.com

Cutzamala System is a lifeline that provides more than a quarter of Mexico City’s drinking water. But due to dwindling water levels, prolonged drought, and overuse, Cutzamala’s main reservoir at Valle de Bravo was stretched to a breaking point in spring 2024.

Long Shadow Podcast · Long Lead & PRX · Through a series of riveting, complex narratives, LONG SHADOW makes sense of what people know — and what they thought they knew — about the most pivotal moments in U.S.…

Listen now to what Rolling Stone called a Best Podcast of 2025 wherever you get your podcasts: open.spotify.com/show/70a5obP...

Seven individual episode cover art banner with LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET podcast cover in the middle

The web once gave power to the people, and going online was actually fun.
Across seven episodes, LONG SHADOW’s fourth season retraces 30 years of web history — a tangle of GIFs, blogs, apps, and hashtags — to answer the bewildering question many ask when they go online today: “How did we get here?”

Screenshot of Long Lead's DEPTH PERCEPTION newsletter landing page on Substack

Independent journalism has never been more important.

Subscribe to Long Lead's DEPTH PERCEPTION to hear from journalism's top voices about the stories that are making headlines.
depthperception.longlead.com

How motherhood changed Elizabeth Flock’s approach to investigative journalism In her latest piece and an upcoming book, the journalist, podcaster, and author focusses on an ancient forest on the Poland-Belarus border.

In this week's DEPTH PERCEPTION, Kelly Kimball speaks to Flock about how motherhood has reframed her understanding of the stories she pursues, and how tracing Kossak’s legacy is an entry point to interrogating what it truly means to nurture life in a world under threat.

Read now.

Headshot of journalist Elizabeth Flock with DEPTH PERCEPTION branding and text: “Before [I had my kid], as an investigative journalist, I was chasing the problems … Now, I have made that shift towards solutions and wisdom, taking a step back, looking at the bigger picture.” —Elizabeth Flock, investigative journalist

Investigative journalist Elizabeth Flock hopes to resurrect stories of nurturing and ancient wisdom that are missing from the world, leading her to her latest project about Simona Kossak, a Polish biologist who raised, nurtured, and studied wild animals in the Białowieża Forest.

She Dove to Escape Grief—And Became One of the World’s Greatest Athletes Embracing her pain, Alenka Artnik pushes the limits of the human body, on just one breath.

Read her story at Long Lead's feature THE DEPTHS SHE'LL REACH: thedepths.longlead.com

Underwater photo of Alenka Artnik freediving

Compared to other athletes, Alenka Artnik didn't seem to be physically extraordinary, her trainer thought. But the mental strength she forged overcoming hardship gave her an obvious edge.

Now she's one of the world's greatest female freedivers.

Roy Peter Clark on storytelling lessons for — and from — students - Nieman Storyboard How to write a college admissions essay. Plus: National Magazine Award finalists

My Friday newsletter for @niemanstoryboard.org: Featuring Roy Peter Clark on storytelling lessons for students, National Magazine Award finalists + @joepompeo.bsky.social @wearesfj.bsky.social @longlead.com

niemanstoryboard.org/2026/02/27/r...

Newsletters - Long Lead <p>Long Lead’s in-depth journalism takes more time to report, write, and produce. Stay in touch with us between productions by subscribing to our free newsletters.</p>

Thank you for including our interview with @lizflock.bsky.social, Mark! If readers like her @newyorker.com piece, they’ll love Long Lead’s next feature, coming in March.

Be first to read it when it drops, AND read all our interviews with the industry’s best independent journalists. Subscribe here:

This is not one of the Internet’s best days… but it IS in the podcast.

Episode 7: The Red Pill

longshadowpodcast.com/podcasts/bre...

The End of the World as We Know It

Find the fourth season of LONG SHADOW wherever you get your podcasts: open.spotify.com/episode/3nq7...

Long Shadow podcast: Breaking the Internet Journalist Garrett Graff hosts season 4 of Long Shadow, a podcast produced by Long Lead. The series chronicles the evolution of the internet.

In the season premiere of LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET, host Garrett Graff unpacks memes and moments you know — like when the world became transfixed by the color of a dress — and others you don’t, but should — like how people sent death threats to the woman who posted that meme online.

Meme of Anakin Skywalker and Padmé with Anakin looking with a serious face and text, "THE DRESS IS WHITE AND GOLD", Padmé laughing with text, "YOU'RE JOKING, RIGHT?", Anakin looking with serious face and Padmé looking nervous with text, "YOU'RE RIGHT. RIGHT?

It was the fight heard around the world.

The answer to team "Blue and black" and team "white and gold" caused people to look at their loved ones in a different. But even though The Dress was a playful look at perception, it still caused angry arguments on the web.

Long Shadow podcast: Breaking the Internet Journalist Garrett Graff hosts season 4 of Long Shadow, a podcast produced by Long Lead. The series chronicles the evolution of the internet.

Listen to the premiere episode of season 4 of LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET to hear more about The Dress and other moments you may have missed wherever you listen to your podcasts. longshadowpodcast.com/podcasts/bre...

In 2015, Holderness was a Buzzfeed editor who found and posted the mega-viral "The Dress."

Even 11 years ago, things that were supposed to be fun and harmless like if the dress was blue and black or white and gold ended up sparking heated arguments online.

When considering what went so wrong with the internet, former @buzzfeed.com editor Cates Holderness (@cates.bsky.social) shared with LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET host Garrett Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social), "I think a whole lot went wrong. The internet we have in 2025 is fractured."

LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET episode one cover with blue screen overlaid on top of the dress from Buzzfeed's blue/black white/gold The Dress meme

The season premiere of LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET — "The End of the World as We Know It" unpacks all things "The Dress" and more. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.

longshadowpodcast.com/podcasts/bre...

Podcast cover of Long Lead show LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET with blue background, black wifi symbol, and big yellow exclamation overlaid

The online landscape today is a harrowing one. People screaming at each other on social media. Violent videos going viral. Cyberbullying, racism, misogyny.

In LONG SHADOW: BREAKING THE INTERNET, host Garrett Graff (@vermontgmg.bsky.social) untangles the web in a way you’ve never considered before.

The last good day on the internet?

A case can be made that it was February 26th, 2015, when llamas on the loose and Buzzfeed's "The Dress" debate pulled the world into a trance.

So how did the internet get quite so bad?