“Talking with them I realized how many people, like me, had run away from hard conversations. How we did it on purpose, and sometimes without realizing. How people who needed to talk waited for invitations to spit out the hard stuff, and how good it felt when they did.” Happy Friday, y’all. Summer is drawing […]
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A lifelong labor of love, Nigerian “Yahoo Boys,” and the week’s top 5
“Over the course of 33 years, Gittins painstakingly transformed almost every surface of this flat with a series of artworks in a variety of styles and mediums, from friezes on the walls of his living room to a Roman altar in his kitchen and enormous, ambitious fireplaces (yes, multiple).” Hello and welcome to the Top […]
The Perils of Television and Five Brilliant Reads
“This is what interests me about SNL. For almost its entire existence, its workers have been very clear about its costs. From interns to stars, they’ve described the show as an intensely discriminatory workplace run by a cold, manipulative boss. As they’ve told us this, SNL has grown into one of the most important institutions in American culture. ” […]
Closure for a Sister Disappeared
“The crypt was a memorial for victims of the regime; she would lie with her peers, after all.”
Pondering Parenthood, Meals for One, and Five Excellent Reads
“When faced with a dilemma I can’t solve, my usual strategy is to read. I order a bunch of books and immerse myself in other people’s experiences. It allows my thoughts to coalesce around a few themes; from there, I can see where I agree and where I diverge. To paraphrase Joan Didion, I read […]
Twenty Years Later: A 9/11 Reading List
Six stories on the immediate and ongoing aftermath of the attacks that took place on September 11th, 2001.
How Concerned Citizens Drove a Neo-Nazi Out of Rural Maine
Christopher Pohlhaus wanted to build a fascist training compound in America’s whitest state. His neighbors had other plans.
Best of 2023: All of Our Number One Story Picks
Every piece we selected as our top story of the week in 2023, all in one place.
Bread and Honey
Sometimes, marriage is about learning how to braid the bitter with the sweet.
Who Is Black Comedy For?
“A new book is nostalgic for the ’90s. But the era of crossover success was not necessarily the pinnacle of Black comedic achievement.”

