I’ll be the first to admit I took multivitamins on and off for years, always assuming vitamins could only be good for you. But the overwhelming majority of scientific studies on the subject not only debunks the myth that they help, but strongly suggests that they may be harming us.

The article I link to above is longer than most I share here, but it’s also more important that you read the whole thing. It could (and, to be honest, should) change your mind on including multivitamins as a part of your daily diet, at least without your doctor’s advice.

I usually like to include a quote from the longreads I share, but this story cannot be reduced to a single blockquote. Whether you support or oppose the death penalty, you should read this 2009 article by David Grann at The New Yorker.

Related

If you like Grann’s work, consider having a listen to the Longform Podcast interview with him or visiting Longform’s archive of his pieces.

This article by Joseph L. Flatley at The Verge is a feat of modern reporting and storytelling. Do yourself a favor and watch the associated documentary, too.

I like to give everything a “link” / “longread” category and one other that describes the content. This one covers a topic I won’t likely post about often, so I’m filing it under “journalism” because, again, it’s just that good.

Ben Fullerton of Method, writing in UX Magazine on the interplay between user experience design and brand messaging:

For designers, the development of a compelling brand helps to round out the design, creating a before and after. It builds a background narrative and meaning that empowers people to respond to design in more complex ways.

David Gran, in 1998 in The New Republic, reprinted online by PBS:

Whereas most prosecutors must discriminate between cases–to decide, say, whether to spend their time and money pursuing people who drive over the speed limit or mug old ladies–independent counsels have only one case, and nearly all the time and the money they need to pursue it. There is little incentive to stop investigating. And, as the investigation racks up costs, the pressure inevitably mounts to convict.