Longreads

1 week ago | longreads.com | Cheri Lucas Rowlands

The social world of the BaYaka, a group of foragers that lives primarily in the Central African rainforest, is guided by the seasons. But seasonality dictates more than their diet. “They require entire social reorganizations,” writes Cecilia Padilla-Iglesias. “Leadership, cooperation, and even spiritual life transform with the seasons.” In this Sapiens essay, Padilla-Iglesias explains that throughout history, humans have been similarly flexible and socially fluid.

1 week ago | longreads.com | Krista Stevens

A 2013 study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reported that CrossFit, while intense, is not particularly dangerous and is considered to be as risky as weight training or preparing for a triathlon. Lazar Ðukić was a 28-year-old CrossFit athlete from Serbia who was a particularly strong swimmer. So why, then, did he drown during an 800-meter swim as part of the 2024 CrossFit Games in Fort Worth, Texas?

1 week ago | longreads.com | Cheri Lucas Rowlands

For Wired, Raksha Vasudevan recounts the 2020 Green Valley Ranch arson in Colorado—a fire that killed five members of a Senegalese family. The arsonists, three teenagers who had targeted the house by mistake, were eventually caught after law enforcement uncovered their Google searches. In this story, Vasudevan raises urgent questions about privacy, surveillance, and our digital footprints. At a department meeting in September, Baker and Sandoval pleaded with colleagues for ideas.

1 week ago | longreads.com | Krista Stevens

For Orion Magazine, Erica Berry ruminates on the various ways in which we as humans forage, and the seemingly disparate things we forage for. In looking at how we seek food, love, and information, she examines the unexpected harms and pleasures we can encounter as we search. Around the same time, I became obsessed with trying to forage mushrooms. Like many things I wanted in life, the pursuit scared me. This seemed like reason enough to do it.

1 week ago | longreads.com | Cheri Lucas Rowlands

For The New York Times, Kashmir Hill reports on the dark and disturbing side of interacting with AI. This unsettling story shows how ChatGPT can hallucinate and “go off the rails,” especially when engaging with vulnerable users or people struggling with mental health who seek guidance.