Emily Perper

The stories I’ve included this week are about eternal life and the fear we feel while contemplating the lack thereof.

“As 2017 dawns, I thought I’d check in with my old self, dust off 2016’s goals and set some new intentions.”

Children’s television programming is always colorful, sometimes educational, and often bizarre. A human-sized hamster wheel? A talking chair? Grown men going to bat for a herd of rainbow-colored ponies? These stories explore the art and economics of making television for kids.

There are stories here about the Native-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline, folks standing up to Donald Trump and his white supremacist cronies, and prisoners striking against their miserable living conditions in a racist system.

None of the following stories were written in 2016, but the themes of our contemporary American Thanksgiving traditions—family, identity, history—remain relevant.

“This week’s reading list is dedicated to marginalized voices. Some of these stories were written in the wake of this year’s election; others came before. I hope you read these and feel if not heartened, then more determined than ever to protest evil, protect marginalized communities/yourselves and share your lived experiences.”

The spookiness doesn’t have to end with the weekend—indulge in classic creepypasta, scary podcasts, and Ms. (Shirley) Jackson on your lunch break.

In the following essays, Antonia Malachik discusses the cultural implications of our aversion to walking; Garnette Cadogan relates how his walks are coded by his skin color, depending on where in the world he is; Adee Braun praises the New York eat-and-walk, and more.

Seven stories about the modern rituals of witchcraft and how they inform our past.

In these six stories, a drunk driver confesses via viral video, an ex-Catholic returns to confession, a high-school cheater reveals her indiscretions, and more.