2020 completed my first full-year subscription to The New Yorker. Below, I have compiled what I thought to be the best reporting published in its magazine throughout the year.
The New Yorker has different categories of writing: Reporting, Profiles, the Critics, the Talk of the Town, Fiction, and Poems. It is also famous for its cartoons.
The magazine is published 47 times annually, circulating just over one million copies per issue. That means there are approximately 47 million print issues per yearaccording to Wikipedia. I have not considered any of the online-only pieces published exclusively on their website.
I hope this ranking is helpful in finding a topic that’s intriguing. Or it could simply be a way to remember the events that have defined 2020. I have tried to rank them on some mixture of compelling, informative, mind-changing, and simply outright enjoyable.
Probably the most outlandish event in the business world of 2019 was the WeWork scandal. The company was hemorrhaging millions of dollars, but being kept afloat by a bizarre organization of venture capitalists looking to strike it rich. It wasn't until the company released its IPO that everything turned sour. The greater issue, however, is not what happened to WeWork, but what is becoming the norm in business and finance across America.
A strong message is delivered when millions of people across the nation flood into the streets in the midst of a global pandemic. The murder of George Floyd turned all eyes, domestically and internationally, to protests demanding a solution to the systemic racism that has plagued our nation since its founding. Lepore argues that government should not hide behind the inaction of reports and commissions like the past, but commit to real action now.
The Falkland Islands is an archipelago just off the eastern coast of Argentina. Although there has been an ongoing dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdown over the sovereignty of the islands, Falklanders are British citizens. The history the islands have almost no relevance to us as Americans, but this piece is simply beautifully written. Between the stunning photography and MacFarquhar’s elegant writing, it’s a great story to kick back with and let it take you away.
Wisconsin has become a crucial swing state in Presidential and Congressional elections. It had not voted Republican since 1984, until the 2008 Global Financial Crash ultimately turned its voters against the neoliberalism of the Democratic Party. Donald Trump convinced the state to vote for him in 2016 with promises of better trade deals and prosperity for the state’s farmers. As we now know in 2021, he didn’t deliver on those promises and lost the voters who put their faith in him.
We define the wealth and power of nations on the international stage based on the growth of their economies. If an economy is expanding, the country is increasing in prosperity. If an economy is contracting, warning bells go off for recessions or depressions. But should our ultimate goal be to always consume more? Is there a way we can maintain prosperity and reduce consumption?
How do we determine equality? In a world that is anything but equal, why do we strive for equality and how do we determine how close we really are to achieving it? As we proclaim ourselves to be a meritocracy, how do we identify the difference between structural inequality and distinct outcomes based upon free-will? Rothman brings philosophy and ethics into the sphere of politics to contemplate how we can build a more virtuous society.
Before the pandemic, US and Chinese relations were anything but positive. Washington and Beijing hold contrasting political ideologies and worldviews. They both compete for influence internationally, using their enormous economies to entice and force countries to join their systems. Our relationship could define the coming decade, as our relationship with the USSR defined the Cold War era.
Do you remember the headlines, towards the beginning of the pandemic, stating that the meat supply-chain was failing and Americans would soon go without meat if nothing was done? Mayer investigates how tycoons of large meat producers used this animus to rake in huge profits and remove worker protections in the midst of the global pandemic.
For many years, Chile had the connotation of being one of the most stable and prosperous South American countries. But the protests that erupted based on increased on the price of metro tickets revealed a deep economic equality that was hidden behind a facade of material wealth. Alarcón reviews how the protests started and where they could go from here.
Days before Biden’s victory in the November elections, Lemann wrote about the future of the Republican Party. He coined three competing predictions: the Remnant, Restoration, and Reversal scenarios. Being that Republicans also lost the Senate majority in January, 2021, this piece is even more relevant. Will Republicans double down on the populist Trump spirit, return to decades of country-club Republicanism, or change course to a more progressive type of candidate more representative of a diverse America?
After years of suburban flight from cities, many neighborhoods are left with crumbling infrastructures. Dollar stores fill the void of supermarkets, retail stores, etc. But their profits ultimately leave the communities they are built in, and their negligence often leads to violence. On the other hand, they are often the only business providing necessary food and provisions in the area.
This was probably the most fun-to-read story published this year. A group of wild technologists buy an old, underground military bunker in Germany and setup a secure hosting service. They claim a libertarian ideology with radical views of free speech and data privacy, but it turns out they are hosting some of the internet's most illicit and dangerous content.
The Panama Papers Leak seems like it was part of a distant past, long gone and covered up by the global elite. But it had lasting effects in places like Malta, which was used to house dirty money from all over the world. Ben Taub reports on the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia, a lone reporter that uncovered the deep rooted corruption of the Maltese government, and how she brought it to the attention of the international community.
The COVID-19 pandemic is the defining event of 2020, and possibly even of this decade (let's cross our fingers). Before we knew much about the virus at all, Hessler recounts his experience in quarantine in Chengdu, China. This is a fascinating piece on how China’s response contrasted greatly with our own, and will probably be an essential autobiography for years to come.
The Affordable Care Act is certainly one of the most controversial pieces of legislation in decades. It’s attacked by both the Left and the Right for either not going far enough in reform and succumbing to pressure from the healthcare industry, or for granting the federal government too much power. The fact of the matter is that millions of Americans were insured and preexisting conditions were covered across the board. Obama’s reflection on his experience passing this legislation is very insightful.
The assassination of Qassem Suleimani brought America to the brink of war. Some even feared that it would lead to an all-out world war. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has made this seem like ages ago, understanding why, how, and the consequences of the assassination are crucial to understanding our relationship with the Middle East and foreign policy more broadly.
Manning a submarine deeper than any human has ever been may not be as awe-inspiring as landing a rocket on the moon, but it’s certainly a spectacular feat of engineering and a salute to centuries of scientific progress. This story follows a group of eccentric and wild people with their struggle to set one of the “last meaningful records on earth.” It's one of the more entertaining pieces of 2020.
This article is just as much reporting as it is a history lesson. Mogelson dives into the history of Syria and America’s relationship throughout the years. Trump’s command to back the military out of the country, against advice from staff, resulted in the resignation of Jim Mattis. This contraversy, and the Syrian War more broadly, was brough into the forefront of public consciousness.
Over the past four years, maybe even more, we have been hearing that American Democracy is in danger. Headlines posit that it's failing and there is nothing we can do about it. Jill Lepore takes us back to the 1930s when democracies around the world were truly in peril, and argues that with civic-mindedness we can write our own future.
Bill Buford writes about taking his family to Lyon, France to pursue his passion in the culinary arts. But when he can’t manage to land a job in one of the city’s top restaurants, he turns towards his neighborhood bakery. It’s run by a jovial Frenchman named Bob, who takes Bill under his wing and teaches him the beautiful, ancient work of baking bread. Buford’s writing is unparalleled, and the story is as beautiful as it is endearing and meaningful.
