CATEGORIES

An adaptation of Three Women makes four a crowd

FOR A WORK OF LITERARY NONFICTION TO thrill readers the way Lisa Taddeo's 2019 best seller Three Women has done, it must offer more than just rich subject matter.

3 sisters and one empty recliner

DEATH CAN BOTH TEAR FAMILY MEMBERS apart and bind them closer-often simultaneously.

NATASHA ROTHWELL OUT FRONT

The creator-performer moves from beloved supporting roles to center stage in a deeply personal new comedy series

STILL PROCESSING

Not all ultra-processed foods are the same. Or, some argue, even unhealthy

IRON FIST

A crackdown on El Salvador’s gangs made Nayib Bukele one of the world’s most popular leaders. Is he going too far?

Long-distance relationships aren't just for romance

NURTURING LONG-DISTANCE friendships takes work, but the payoff is worth it-and even small gestures can keep bonds alive.

HOW TO KNOW IF YOUR DYNAMIC IS TOXIC AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Friends can be great-until they're not.

It's never too late to make new friends

CHRIS DUFFY ISN'T GOING TO SUGARcoat it: making friends as an adult is hard.

Polaris Dawn opens a new chapter in space

IT WAS A VERY BIG DEAL ON SEPT. 14, 1966, WHEN ASTROnauts Pete Conrad and Dick Gordon flew their Gemini 11 spacecraft to a record altitude of 850 miles. It has remained a big deal for 58 years, while that benchmark for a crewed spacecraft in Earth orbit remained.

'LOOK FORWARD'

Black women rooting for Vice President Kamala Harris don't want Donald Trump's taunts to distract her

THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

IT'S HARD TO IMAGINE WHAT MODERN LIFE would look like without Google.

Kid of the Year- Madhvi Chittoor - When Madhvi Chittoor of Arvada, Colo., learned at the age of 6 that PFAS forever chemicals are found in all sorts of consumer products, she wanted to warn everyone.

When Madhvi Chittoor of Arvada, Colo., learned at the age of 6 that PFAS forever chemicals are found in all sorts of consumer products, she wanted to warn everyone. So she started with one person: Colorado state senator Lisa Cutter, a strong advocate for the environment. Cutter agreed to meet, and in 2021 she sat down with Madhvi-accompanied by her mom at a Panera.

How often should you wash your bedding?

EVERY MORNING WHEN LIBBEY Castle wakes up, she strips her bed and chucks her sheets into the washing machine.

Health Matters - Dementia is one of the scariest diagnoses in medicine, in part because it seems impossible to prevent.

Dementia is one of the scariest diagnoses in medicine, in part because it seems impossible to prevent. But recent research suggests that's not the case. In fact, a new report based on an analysis of hundreds of studies says almost half of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed if people adopted certain habits. These are among the most effective.

Prisoners of Putin - the release of more than 20 Russian-held prisoners including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other American citizens

The historic release of more than 20 Russian-held prisoners including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other American citizens-relied on the cooperation of seven countries. At a time of deepening global tensions, the rare moment of collaboration was not just a cause for celebration among the prisoners and their families, but also a significant diplomatic achievement.

Health Matters- It's summer, and Flu and RSV have come and gone. But as ever, COVID-19 is different. Even though the pandemic is behind us, the virus is once again surging in the U.S.

On top of getting vaccinated, it might be time for some people to consider masking again-since a more transmissible virus is circulating, and more people are traveling and gathering in crowded public settings like airports. "If I were in a high-risk group and I'm in a large group of people I didn't know-like on an airplane-I think it's reasonable to wear a mask," says Murphy. That consideration should also apply to people who are sick. "I think anyone who has a respiratory illness should stay at home," says Offit. "And if you can't stay at home, you should wear a mask. If you're in a high-risk group, get tested-and if you have COVID-19, take an antiviral."

An Audacious New Read of The Decameron - The author Rivka Galchen sums up this reading in her Decameron Project introduction: "Reading stories in difficult times is a way to understand those times, and also a way to persevere through them."

Boccaccio's masterpiece follows 10 young nobles fleeing an outbreak in Florence that would ultimately reduce the city's population by half. To pass the time in their rural idyll, they tell the stories that make up the bulk of the book-one apiece for 10 days, hence the title. The consensus interpretation of The Decameron is that it illustrates the power of storytelling to buoy us through history's horrors. The author Rivka Galchen sums up this reading in her Decameron Project introduction: "Reading stories in difficult times is a way to understand those times, and also a way to persevere through them." Kathleen Jordan, the creator of Netflix's The Decameron, came away from her pandemic-era reading of Boccaccio with a different understanding. What if, her black comedy proposes, the book's true timeless message is that whether they're Florentine aristocrats in 1348 or Manhattan financiers in 2020, the privileged will always blithely abandon their less fortunate neighbors when the plague comes to town? Jordan has stripped The Decameron of its stories, choosing instead to riff on the frame narrative.

Everyone On the Web Will Die. What About Their Data?- The internet is aging. As soon as the 2060s, there may be more dead than alive users on Facebook.

The internet is aging. As soon as the 2060s, there may be more dead than alive users on Facebook. We know that everyone using the internet will die, and that hundreds of millions, if not billions, will do so in the next three decades. We know this poses a serious threat to an economy based on targeted ads (the dead don't click on them). We also know that whoever seizes control over dead-user data will wield enormous power over our future access to the past. Just consider that one person –Elon Musk, no less– now owns the entirety of the tweets that constitute(d) the Arab Spring, #MeToo, and Black Lives Matter. When future historians seek to understand their past, it is the Musks and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world who will set the terms.

As the Personal Check Disappears, What Comes Next? The check. A thousand years later, this form of payment is finally disappearing.

The newest type of payment –the first to be introduced in the U.S. since the 1970s– is called instant payments, in which money moves from your account to another immediately. You may think you already use instant payments with services like Venmo, but you don't. Those payments come from a Venmo account rather than directly from your bank account, and the funds can take some time to move.

Captains of Industry set sail

IT WAS PERHAPS INEVITABLE THAT THE CAST OF INDUSTRY would find themselves on a yacht.

Keivonn Woodard

ACTING FOR REPRESENTATION

Jordan Sucato

PROTECTING PAWS

Shanya Gill

FIGHTING FIRE WITH INGENUITY

Dom Pecora

FIXING BIKES, CHANGING LIVES

Kid of the Year

ONE EXCEPTIONAL YOUNG PERSON AND FIVE HONOREESGIVING US HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

How to Avoid A Climate Backlash

The energy transition hangs in the balance, as green policies fuel right-wing politics

THE Pursuit OF Happiness

A NEW STARTUP RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TRY TO OPTIMIZE SPIRITUALITY

SECOND CHANCE

The reintroduction of Kamala Harris

Bibi At War

THE EMBATTLED PREMIER ON GAZA, IRAN, AND ISRAEL'S PERILOUS FUTURE

Sam Bankman-Fried's D.C. charm offensive

IN 2022, IT WAS HARD TO WALK AROUND WASHINGTON without seeing Sam Bankman-Fried's face.