The past year was robust with incredible reporting on women's stories. Here are some of the best longreads of 2016 that took us in-depth into women's lives.

In this week's Wednesday Five we share with you the best Longreads of the week with features on legendary Cosmo editor Helen Gurley Brown, how Meryl Streep won her first Oscar, pioneering astronomer Vera Rubin, the slapstick anarchists of “Broad City," and Lifetime as one of the best places in Hollywood for women.

This week, our longform list includes a shout out to the following articles: importance of women's voices to the genre of travel writing, an extensive interview with the NASA scientist designing the parachute for the MARS Rover, comedian Tig Notaro on having cancer, making her new documentary and rebuilding after trauma, a salute to Marlene Sanders, pioneer in broadcast journalism, and a series of panels on technology with only women as speakers.