Is the century-old Jewish-Leftist alliance ending?

For much of the 20th century, the radical and revolutionary left played a huge role in defining how the rest of America saw Jews and how Jews saw themselves. In an essay for Tablet Magazine, literary critic Adam Kirsch considers whether that linkage is over.

Read it at Tabletmag.com.

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Only a handful of animals in the world can be tamed, but that can’t stop a homesick 15-year-old girl from trying.

In “A Raccoon of My Own,” new in Aeon Magazine, American psychologist and best-selling writer Lauren Slater recalls an exquisitely painful time in her youth, when, cast adrift from home herself, she adopted a baby raccoon. Her relationship with “Amelia” blossomed—one creature adapting to, and learning from the other. But Amelia’s wild instincts could not be contained in suburban domestic life, as Lauren was soon to realize.

Read it in Aeon Magazine—a new digital magazine publishing daily essays on ideas, culture and science.

Our sponsor this week is Aeon, a great new digital magazine covering ideas and culture. Aeon publishes an original essay every weekday, several of which have been picked for Longform. Here are three recent favorites:

Spaced Out, by Greg Klerkx
Living in space was meant to be our next evolutionary step. What happened to the dream of the final frontier?

There’s an App for That, by John-Paul Flintoff
What to eat, when to meditate and whether to call your parents: can self-monitoring tools make a difference?

This Is Humankind, by Polina Aronson
If my grandfather could survive the Siege of Leningrad and still distinguish between a German and a Nazi, so can I.

Read those stories and more at aeonmagazine.com.

Aeon is a new digital magazine of ideas and culture, publishing an original essay every weekday. Just launched in September 2012, Aeon has already produced a slew of fascinating pieces, several of which have been featured on Longform. Here are three of the very best:

The Golden Age
John Quiggin on the 15-hour week.

The Vanishing Groves
Ross Andersen on seeing the history of the universe in tree rings.

Return Trip
Erik Davies on rehabilitating psychedelics.

Read those stories and more at aeonmagazine.com.

Our sponsor again this week is Aeon, a great new digital magazine covering ideas and culture. Aeon publishes an original essay every weekday, several of which have been picked for Longform. Here are three recent favorites:

No Drama, King Obama, by Edward L. Fox
In Javanese culture, a ruler must stand chivalrously above strife: cool, intelligent and self-contained. Sound familiar?

Mortal Remains, by Thomas Lynch
The dead are no longer welcome at their own funerals. So how can the living send them on their way?

Animal Spirits, by Stephen T. Asma
The more we learn about the emotions shared by all mammals, the more we must rethink our own human intelligence.

Read those stories and more at aeonmagazine.com.

Our sponsor again this week is Aeon, a new digital magazine of ideas and culture. Aeon publishes an original essay every weekday, several of which have been picked for Longform. Here is a trio of recent favorites:

Luddite Love
Claire L Evans on why old relationships should fade like a photograph, not haunt your social networks forever.

Earth's Holy Fool?
Michael Ruse on the Gaia paradox — some scientists hate it, the public loves it, and they may both be right.

World Enough
John Quiggin on the emerging opportunity to simultaneously end poverty and protect the environment.

Read those stories and more at aeonmagazine.com.

Distance is a quarterly journal with long essays about design and technology, making this the most well-targeted advertisement ever.

Our second issue is out now, with essays from: Cassie McDaniel, about how designers can change the world in far-flung industries; Sharlene King, about homework’s role in our daily work; and Francisco Inchauste, about how to build more meaningful businesses.

Single copies and subscriptions are available at distance.cc. Thanks for reading.

For information about sponsoring Longform, click here.

What can be salvaged from publishing? What does it mean to write for the 50% of US adults who have trouble reading? What happens to crime reporting when you cover every victim, every suspect, every murder with the same care?

Contents publishes open-source editorial ideas for new journalism, digital publishing, content strategy, and everything in between. Always free, always online, fresh each week.

We recommend their latest piece, "House of Cards" by Robin Sloan.

For information about sponsoring Longform, click here.