In the early weeks of the Covid pandemic, in those days when public spaces emptied and hospitals filled up, I used to see this magazine cover from 2017 being passed around social media. The story was a familiar one to me, because I was the one who had written it: The posts were all versions […]

Nicole Kidman is getting a new job. The actress already dominates TV and film, pulling in tens of millions of dollars a year for roles in hits like Nine Perfect Strangers and Babygirl. Her new gig is less glamorous, way less lucrative, and maybe more necessary: She’s training to be a death doula. Death doulas, […]

The California governor’s race isn’t just important for Californians. At a moment where the federal government is sabotaging American democracy from within, the question of how the leader of the union’s wealthiest and most populous state responds — and the ways they use their powers to challenge federal authority — has major implications for the country. […]

When the Trump administration began dismantling US foreign aid in January 2025, many global health experts feared that the consequences would be catastrophic, with models projecting thousands of deaths as a direct consequence of the cuts. Across nine countries, 3.4 million fewer people were tested for HIV in just the first half of 2025, according […]

For nearly a decade, Lauren served as the animal control manager for a county in North Georgia. It was a round-the-clock, always-on kind of job, in which she and her employees responded to animal cruelty and neglect cases, dog attacks, and animal escapes. Saving animals was, and still is, Lauren’s passion in life. But some […]