We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in arts and culture.
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Posted inEditor's Pick
Is The Gig Economy Working?
“The power to control one’s working life would return, grassroots style, to the people,” writes Nathan Heller about the neoliberal dream of a work environment in which capitalism is democratized. But the gig economy has always been about the illusion of control, and that illusion is enough to keep people outwardly satisfied, but inwardly anxious. What does it all mean, […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Road
Brazil’s massive Amazon rainforest basin is the world’s last terrestrial frontier. Like all frontiers, it’s getting developed for profit and nation-building at the expense of first nations and the native ecosystem. Unlike other frontiers, it’s happening as the world struggles to address climate change. In this epic, in-depth story, Stephanie Nolen travels 1,200 miles on […]
Posted inStory
Notes on Citizenship
Nina Li Coomes reckons with the quandary of citizenship and the meaning of home.
Posted inStory
Kristen Arnett on Taxidermy, Memory, and “Mostly Dead Things”
“What’s considered high art? What’s lowbrow? What are those things? That’s something that, as a person who like, lives at 7-Eleven, I’m extremely interested in.”
Posted inStory
The American Worth Ethic
Like so many of our lofty ideals, the “American Work Ethic” is actually two different standards — one for the wealthy and one for the poor — with two different interpretations of what work looks like.
Posted inArts & Culture, Culture, Essays & Criticism, Feature, Story, Unapologetic Women
Dancing Backup: Puerto Ricans in the American Muchedumbre
Carina del Valle Schorske traces a lineage of Puerto Rican backup dancers in American entertainment from Rita Moreno to JLo.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
Coming Home, One Word at a Time
Upon returning to India, a course in Urdu helps Sharanya Deepak embrace the rich and turbulent history of her native country.
Posted inArts & Culture, History, Story
Percy Ross Wants to Give You Money!
He was was a self-made, blue-collar millionaire in Reagan’s America. But when Percy Ross decided to give away his fortune, he made things simple: all you had to do was ask for it.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Digital Age Won’t Kill Paper
Just like handwriting survived long after the introduction of print, paper is still very much part of our internet-era economy.
