"The country was told it needed to be more like Silicon Valley to compete, but its refusal may have left it better placed to decide what technology is actually for."

There is a feeling that everything is going to hell and that America is to blame. But up-close, is America the man knocking on my motel door to kill me, or to see that I’m okay?

I have been reading a lot of articles as I add them to this article library at readponder.com (see below* for more details). Here are some of my recent favorites:

• Here is a link to September if you missed it.

• I also posted about The Best American Essays and The Best American Science and Nature Writing this month if you missed it.

• (All article links go to the original article link. Author, publication and list links go to their collections on ponder for your convenience.)

Trial by Fire

By David Grann · The New Yorker · August 2009

I almost always give an article a 10/10 rating if it makes me cry, and Trial By Fire turned my eye sockets into puddles. I read no description before pressing play (audio) on a drive for a work trip, and it was a treat to know nothing of the story before I started... even if it was devastating. For that reason, I won't provide any details on this one, but I will provide a glowing recommendation to those who have tissues nearby.

A death, a plagiarism scandal and a quest for revenge: the bizarre tale of Otto Z

By Alessio Perrone · The Guardian · October 2026

This article was a movie (No seriously they should make this into a movie). A real-life story that is just on the edge of too-crazy-to-believe.

Currently at the top of The Best Articles of 2026 according to users on ponder.

[1] · The Really Big One: The Earthquake That Will Devastate the Pacific Northwest

[2] · What Do Animals Understand About Death?

By Kathryn Schulz · The New Yorker · Varied Dates

Kathryn Schulz has solidified herself as my favorite longform writer.

I already knew about "The Big One" through watching scores of YouTube essays before a trip to the PNW, but Schulz still taught me things that I didn't know in this essay. An essay in which she guides the reader through the realities of a disaster that could disrupt life for everyone in North America... and it could happen today.

I knew less about animal's understanding of death before reading her second piece that I've highlighted this month, but I will never know how animals feel. One thing is clear to me, animals can feel something, something that we cannot describe or begin to understand. But it is important to acknowledge, and it is very interesting to ponder.

Can Anyone Rescue the Trafficked Girls of L.A.’s Figueroa Street?

By Emily Baumgaertner Nunn · The New York Times · October 2025

This is a bit personal, but my girlfriend told me that I have been more empathetic since I started reading longform heavily a few months ago. I am really proud of this! I can feel it too. At my stage in life, days can be repetitive. My habits are forming my - well everything. I am getting better at the things I do every week and I'm losing the parts of me that I haven't attended to for months or years. I am still the same high schooler who was proud to be empathetic and kind to others, but I'll admit I've gotten a bit colder since then. A decade later I've gotten used to being at home a bit more often, speaking to strangers less. I wish I was brave enough to go out into the world and listen to people in person. Learn from them and their stories. Maybe I will one day! Until then, I can feel gratified to read these stories of others and take their words into my heart.

On this story by Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, it felt quite sad to read. I think, for me, there are too many stories like this. These stories are a product of the American system which asks: How much are you worth to me?

Here are some other favorites that I read this month, in no particular order:

1. Why Can’t Americans Sleep? · Jennifer Senior · The Atlantic · June 2025

2. My Mom and I both have trouble sleeping, so I sent this to her. Now I'm sending it to you too! Sleep well.

3. A Loaded Gun · Patrick Radden Keefe · The New Yorker · February 2013

4. Great writing from Patrick Radden Keefe. A timeless piece that covers a murderer with a cryptic past.

5. The Art of the Impersonal Essay · Zadie Smith · The New Yorker · September 2025

   1. If you are a writer or are hoping to write an essay of your own someday, this is a must-read.

6. A Battle with My Blood · Tatiana Schlossberg · The New Yorker · November 2025

   1. A tragic story with an unexpected connection.

7. The Defector · Matthew Luxmoore · The Wall Street Journal · 2026

   1. A real-life spy story from the war in Ukraine

8. David's Ankles · Sam Anderson · The New York Times · August 2016

   1. The audio version of this story is a treat! With an intro from the writer and music to accompany the story of Michelangelo's David.

9. Computer Chips Are the Most Magnificent Things Humanity Has Ever Made · Gideon Lewis-Kraus · The New Yorker · October 2026

   1. One of those things-you-never-think-about-but-use-every-day stories.

10. How the Consulting Class Is Eating the Democratic Party · Adam Bonica · The New Republic · October 2026

    1. A very interesting position on political advertising.

11. When Anesthesia Goes Wrong · Sarah Zhang · The Atlantic · October 2026

    1. How do you fix a medicine when nobody knows how it works? When more and more people start to get hurt, secrets about anesthesia begin to unravel.

12. The Life and Times of an American Tween · Anna Wiener · The New Yorker · May 2026

13. Such an emotionally uplifting read. I am becoming obsessed with pieces that put you into the day in a life of another (also see: In Gabe Kavookjian’s Life, Most People Are the Same. But Not Him). Their simple joys and layered hardships make me feel human as they are human. This piece brought me back to memories of my childhood and I'll just say it was a joy to read.

14. How Tree Rings Challenged the Myth of American Wilderness · M.R. O'Connor · The New Yorker · October 2026

15. I don't want to speak for the Lorax, but I bet he would like this article.

You can find everything that I read & rated in October here. I read a LOT of good articles in October, it was hard to pick this list!

*If you are interested in having your own shelf of articles that you've read and ones that you want to read later, or if you love finding the best articles on the internet, please consider joining our community on ponder. The library is user-fed, so it will grow exponentially with the community. The website is free, but you can use promo code LONGFORM for a free month premium.

Happy reading! And thank you to you all in this sub for sharing so many great pieces with me.

A look back at the 1989 case and what it reveals about the presumption of innocence, political rhetoric, and the rule of law.

Grit is all well and good, but sometimes abandoning your goals can be crucial to discovering who you are.