Longreads Best of 2018: Profiles
Sarah SmarshJournalist Sarah Smarsh has covered socioeconomic class, politics, and public policy for The Guardian, The New York Times, The Texas Observer, and many other publications.Smarsh’s first book, Heartland, was long-listed for the National Book Award in nonfiction.
莎拉·斯马什 (Sarah Smarsh) 记者莎拉·斯马什 (Sarah Smarsh) 为《卫报》、《纽约时报》、《德克萨斯观察家报》和许多其他出版物报道了社会经济阶层、政治和公共政策。斯马什的第一本书《Heartland》曾入围美国国家图书奖非小说类图书奖。
## William Barber Takes on Poverty and Race in the Age of Trump (Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker)
## 威廉·巴伯 (William Barber) 探讨特朗普时代的贫困和种族问题（杰拉尼·科布 (Jelani Cobb)，《纽约客》)
The intersection of class, race, and religion — what could be more fraught in these times?
阶级、种族和宗教的交集——在这个时代，还有什么比这更令人担忧的呢？
Cobb’s rare combination of quiet wisdom and a steady journalistic hand is the perfect guide.
科布罕见地结合了安静的智慧和稳定的新闻报道能力，是完美的向导。
He profiles Protestant minister William Barber, the progressive activist and co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, with thorough reporting and sensitivity, letting facts speak for themselves but humanizing the subject as no fact alone can do.
他以彻底的报道和敏感度来介绍新教牧师威廉·巴伯（William Barber）、进步活动家和穷人运动联合主席，让事实说明一切，但将主题人性化，这是仅靠事实无法做到的。
I’ve been part of the Poor People’s Campaign at the ground level and was heartened to learn here that more than one respected source calls Barber “the real thing.” But, whether or not Barber is your political comrade, you will learn that he believes himself to be your spiritual brother — a refreshing fusion of political and moral force on the sometimes god-averse left.
我曾参与过底层的穷人运动，很高兴在这里得知不止一位受人尊敬的消息人士称巴伯是“真实的”。但是，无论巴伯是否是你的政治同志，你都会知道他相信自己是你的精神兄弟——对有时厌恶上帝的左派来说，这是政治和道德力量的令人耳目一新的融合。
Taffy Brodesser-AknerFeature writer for The New York Times.
塔菲·布罗德瑟-阿克纳 (Taffy Brodesser-Akner) 《纽约时报》特约撰稿人。
## The mystery of Tucker Carlson (Lyz Lenz, Columbia Journalism Review)
## 塔克·卡尔森之谜（Lyz Lenz，哥伦比亚新闻评论）
This was a really good year for profiles, despite their death (reported annually).
尽管他们已经去世（每年都会报告），但对于个人资料来说，今年确实是美好的一年。
So good that it was very hard to narrow it down, and so I was very grateful that I couldn’t pick any from the New York Times, where I work, which really helped narrow it down.
太好了，以至于很难缩小范围，所以我很感激我无法从我工作的《纽约时报》中挑选任何内容，这确实有助于缩小范围。
(Though you’ve just got to read this one.)
（尽管你刚刚读过这篇文章。）
And how do you choose from the others: Dan Riley on Timothée Chalamet (though exactly which profile/article/photo/table of contents, even, under Jim Nelson wasn’t great?).
你如何从其他人中进行选择：蒂莫西·查拉梅 (Timothée Chalamet) 的丹·莱利 (Dan Riley)（尽管到底哪个个人资料/文章/照片/目录，甚至在吉姆·尼尔森 (Jim Nelson) 的领导下也不是很好？）。
Allison P.
艾莉森·P。
Davis’ Lena Dunham lede-ender of fallopian tubes like outstretched arms?
戴维斯的莉娜邓纳姆（Lena Dunham）的输卵管像张开的手臂一样？
Amanda Fortini opening Michelle Williams’ historically very locked vault.
阿曼达·福蒂尼 (Amanda Fortini) 打开米歇尔·威廉姆斯 (Michelle Williams) 历史上紧锁的金库。
Emily Nussbaum on Ryan Murphy.
艾米丽·努斯鲍姆谈瑞恩·墨菲。
Paige Williams on Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
佩吉·威廉姆斯谈莎拉·赫卡比·桑德斯。
Wright Thompson on Geno Auriemma.
赖特·汤普森谈吉诺·奥瑞玛。
Jessica Pressler on Anna Delvey.
杰西卡·普莱斯勒 (Jessica Pressler) 饰演安娜·德尔维 (Anna Delvey)。
(Jessica Pressler on anything.) What a year.
（杰西卡·普莱斯勒谈论任何事情。） 多么美好的一年。
But I finally picked one, and when I did, I realized it was a no-brainer.
但我最终选择了一个，当我这样做时，我意识到这是理所当然的。
Lyz Lenz, who has terrifying amounts of talent, pulled off the neatest trick: A profile of screamy Tucker Carlson that walks the line of being way too self-referential, and yet somehow makes that work.
拥有惊人天赋的莱兹·伦茨 (Lyz Lenz) 表演了一个最巧妙的把戏：尖叫着的塔克·卡尔森 (Tucker Carlson) 的侧影走在过于自我参照的路线上，但不知何故却成功了。
It’s perhaps because it’s so funny.
也许是因为它太有趣了。
It’s perhaps because instead of looking for some fatuous lede scene it goes straight to the most prominent aspect of Carlson (why is he always screaming?).
也许是因为它没有寻找一些愚蠢的lede场景，而是直接进入了卡尔森最突出的方面（为什么他总是尖叫？）。
It’s perhaps because she knows that there is no end to the delight of knowing his full name: Tucker McNear Swanson Carlson.
也许是因为她知道，知道他的全名时，她的喜悦是无穷无尽的：塔克·麦克尼尔·斯旺森·卡尔森。
Or maybe it’s this section ender: “His publicist calls after our interview to make sure I know that Carlson is not a racist.” Whatever it is, I was very grateful for it.
或者也许是本节的结尾：“他的公关人员在我们采访后打电话来确保我知道卡尔森不是种族主义者。”不管是什么，我都非常感激。
James Ross GardnerEditor-in-chief, Seattle Met.
詹姆斯·罗斯·加德纳 (James Ross Gardner) 西雅图大都会报主编。
## Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s Battering Ram (Paige Williams, The New Yorker)
## 莎拉·赫卡比·桑德斯，特朗普的攻城槌（佩吉·威廉姆斯，《纽约客》）
I lost count of how many times Paige Williams was obliged to deploy terms like “inaccurately,” “falsely,” “erroneous,” and “lie” in this extraordinary portrait of Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
我记不清有多少次佩奇·威廉姆斯在莎拉·赫卡比·桑德斯的这幅非凡肖像中不得不使用“不准确”、“虚假”、“错误”和“谎言”等术语。
What’s remarkable about Trump’s press secretary though is that, at least here, those words are rarely used to describe statements by Sanders herself — but rather of those whose lies she must justify.
不过，特朗普新闻秘书的非凡之处在于，至少在这里，这些词很少用来形容桑德斯本人的言论，而是用来形容那些她必须为其谎言辩护的人。
It’s also what makes Sanders a cipher of our time.
这也是桑德斯成为我们这个时代的密码的原因。
How does someone who vehemently claims to possess high moral character rationalize defending the indefensible?
一个极力声称拥有高尚道德品格的人如何合理地捍卫站不住脚的东西？
Put another way: How does one become that person?
换句话说：一个人如何成为那个人？
Williams’s search for an answer takes her to her subject’s native Arkansas, where in the ’90s the daughter of then governor Mike Huckabee “was given Chelsea Clinton’s former bedroom” in the governor’s mansion, and Little Rock “residents and journalists mocked the Huckabees as rubes.” Later, during a visit with a lifelong friend, we catch a rare glimpse of the press secretary uncoiled and away from the podium, “wearing tropical-print shorts and flip-flops, with a blue blouse and her pearls.” Details like these are certainly humanizing.
威廉姆斯为了寻找答案，来到了她的拍摄对象的故乡阿肯色州，在上世纪 90 年代，时任州长迈克·哈卡比的女儿在州长官邸“获得了切尔西·克林顿的前卧室”，而小石城的“居民和记者嘲笑哈卡比夫妇是乡巴佬”。后来，在拜访一位终生好友时，我们罕见地看到这位新闻秘书从讲台上解开身子，“穿着热带印花短裤和人字拖，穿着蓝色衬衫，戴着珍珠。”像这样的细节确实很人性化。
But Williams isn’t here to vindicate Sanders’s transgressions.
但威廉姆斯并不是来为桑德斯的越轨行为辩护的。
In 9,293 words she deftly dismantles the notion that the president’s “battering ram” might walk away from any of this with clean hands.
她用 9,293 字巧妙地驳斥了这样一种观念，即总统的“攻城槌”可能会干净利落地摆脱这一切。
“A press secretary who had an abiding respect for First Amendment freedoms likely would have resigned once it became clear that Trump intended to steamroll his way through the Constitution,” Williams offers early in the piece.
威廉姆斯在文章开头提出：“一旦特朗普明确意图通过宪法，一位始终尊重第一修正案自由的新闻秘书可能会辞职。”
“But Sanders stayed.”
“但桑德斯留下来了。”
Seyward DarbyEditor in Chief, The Atavist.
赛沃德·达比 (Seyward Darby) 《返祖派》主编。
## The mystery of Tucker Carlson (Lyz Lenz, Columbia Journalism Review)
## 塔克·卡尔森之谜（Lyz Lenz，哥伦比亚新闻评论）
Lyz Lenz’s profile of Tucker Carlson in the Columbia Journalism Review begins and ends with the subject shouting at the writer, but insisting that he’s not.
莱兹·伦茨 (Lyz Lenz) 在《哥伦比亚新闻评论》中对塔克·卡尔森 (Tucker Carlson) 的描述从开始到结束都是主题对作者大喊大叫，但坚称他不是。
It’s the perfect encapsulation of Carlson’s raison d’être in the Trump era: convincing people to believe lies despite proof of the truth sitting right friggin’ there in the form of scientific studies, sociological data, photographic evidence, and the like.
这是卡尔森在特朗普时代存在的理由的完美概括：说服人们相信谎言，尽管事实的证据就以科学研究、社会学数据、照片证据等形式存在。
And when gaslighting fails?
当煤气灯失败时呢？
To Lenz, hardy soul that she is, Carlson again demonstrates his favorite ripostes.
对于伦茨这个坚强的灵魂，卡尔森再次展示了他最喜欢的反击。
He deflects probing questions with glib mockery, by rejecting a query’s value so that he doesn’t have to address it, or — my personal favorite — with pseudo-intellectual incoherence masquerading as the sort of wily argument that wins high-school debaters gleaming trophies.
他用油腔滑调的嘲弄来转移探究性问题，拒绝一个问题的价值，这样他就不必解决它，或者——我个人最喜欢的——用伪知识分子的不连贯性伪装成那种为高中辩手赢得闪闪发光的奖杯的狡猾的论点。
(This is a digression where I beg someone reading this list to pen the definitive essay on how debate is the root of political evil.
（这是一个题外话，我请求阅读此列表的人写一篇关于辩论如何成为政治邪恶根源的权威文章。
I will tweet it every day, forever.) Lenz, wholly in control of her craft, injects the profile with her own anxiety and anger about Carlson’s bullshit and with sly reminders that, for too long, respectable media overlooked his bullshit because Carlson was quite good at mimicking Hunter S.
我会每天发推文，永远。）伦茨完全掌控了自己的手艺，她在个人资料中注入了她自己对卡尔森废话的焦虑和愤怒，并狡猾地提醒人们，长期以来，受人尊敬的媒体忽视了他的废话，因为卡尔森非常擅长模仿亨特·S。
Thompson.
汤普森.
People keep wondering, wide-eyed, what happened to Tucker Carlson.
人们一直睁大眼睛想知道塔克·卡尔森发生了什么事。
They don’t want to admit that the answer is, and was always, right friggin’ there.
他们不想承认答案是而且一直都是正确的。
Krista StevensSenior editor, Longreads.
克里斯塔·史蒂文斯 (Krista Stevens) 高级编辑，Longreads。
## Jerry and Marge Go Large (Jason Fagone, Huffington Post Highline)
## Jerry 和 Marge Go Large（Jason Fagone，《赫芬顿邮报 Highline》）
To Gerald “Jerry” Selbee, an “intellectually restless” dyslexic cereal box designer from Battle Creek Michigan, everything in the world was a puzzle to be solved.
来自密歇根州巴特尔克里克的麦片盒设计师杰拉德·“杰里”·塞尔比（Gerald“Jerry”Selbee）是一位“智力上不安分”的阅读障碍麦片盒设计师，对于他来说，世界上的一切都是一个有待解决的谜题。
At age 64, Selbee’s mathematical mind discovered a loophole in the Michigan Lottery’s “Winfall” game.
64 岁时，塞尔比的数学头脑发现了密歇根州彩票的“Winfall”游戏中的一个漏洞。
He figured he’d test his lottery strategy as something fun to do to in retirement.
他认为他应该测试他的彩票策略，将其作为退休后的一件有趣的事情。
Jason Fagone wrote 11,000 words about how Jerry and Marge Selbee won $27 million gaming the Michigan Lottery over nine years and this piece has it all in a winning combination.
Jason Fagone 写了 11,000 字，讲述了 Jerry 和 Marge Selbee 如何在 9 年间赢得密歇根彩票 2700 万美元，而这篇文章将这一切都集中在一个获胜的组合中。
As you root for the working man who finds a way to win against a big government entity, you too savor the thrill of solving a tough puzzle to make your lottery dream come true.
当你支持找到方法战胜大型政府实体的工人时，你也会享受解决难题以实现彩票梦想的快感。
This is longform at its finest.
这是最好的长篇。
* * *
** **