Jennifer Baker considers the ways in which hair removal rituals, begun in her tween years, have helped her achieve body acceptance and connect with her own desire.
Feature
Our Words Will Save Us and Set Us Free
In the wake of having his writing career belittled, Jackson Bliss becomes an interpreter for a refugee and comes to see words, translations, and storytelling as important acts of resistance.
Revisiting My Grandfather’s Garden
During a return trip to Tehran, Mojgan Ghazirad searches for her childhood home and witnesses the damage U.S. sanctions have brought to Iranian lives.
Everything is Fine
Sara Fredman thinks about the voices in her life as she raises young children and reckons with her fading father.
The End of Poker Night
Mindy Greenstein looks back on the gambling that was a big part of life with her Holocaust refugee parents.
Faith and Reproductive Justice Are Not in Opposition
Black women face outsized threats if Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Shelved: Brian Wilson’s Adult/Child
Music from the time after the good vibrations ended.
Where the Trouble Started
Decades after a childhood sexual assault, Saidee Sonnenberg tries to make sense of what happened.
The Problem With Nostalgia
Michael Musto argues that wearing rose-colored glasses always leads to an unfair distortion — looking back on the best of the past while comparing it to the worst of the present.
The Real Danger on the Promenade
After coming out, Steffan Triplett considers rekindling a broken friendship, dancing with danger and mystery in a secluded area on the edge of town.
