The Weekend Essay
Watching the “King of the Hill” Revival from Texas
In the age of MAGA, the show’s small-town values are both a relief and slightly outdated. In the end, will we and the animated characters all live like city people?
Notes on Bed Rest
I spent months limiting my movement, to protect a high-risk pregnancy. How did it change me?
To Be Young, Gifted, and Black at Fenway
My father taught me about jazz, poetry, and philosophy, but he couldn’t show me how to be Black and a Red Sox fan.
Teaching Men Who Will Never Leave Prison
In a maximum-security facility in upstate New York, students tackled Samuel Richardson’s “Clarissa” and Tolstoy’s “War and Peace,” finding a sense of purpose that transcended ordinary coursework.
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How to Save a Dog
For nearly a year, a motley crew scoured New Orleans for a shaggy white mutt named Scrim.
What I Learned from My Mother and the U.S. Postal Service
The job of a mail carrier is multifaceted and challenging, but that work unites the people of this country.
Why I Wear the Turban
The headwear is burdened by stereotypes—but it can carry, too, the pleasures of self-invention.
In Praise of Jane Austen’s Least Beloved Novel
Part marriage plot, part novel about novels, “Northanger Abbey” is Austen’s strangest—and perhaps most underappreciated—work.