The election was divisive, pitting an established moderate against an upstart progressive in the large, Democratic city. For a while it seemed like it would be close, but in the end the progressive won definitively, powered by a relentless focus on affordability and adept use of short-form video.  Mamdani? New York? You must be confused […]

This story was originally published in The Highlight, Vox’s member-exclusive magazine. To get early access to member-exclusive stories every month, join the Vox Membership program today. The most embarrassing thing happened to me recently. It was twilight, and I was walking my dog around the quiet Brooklyn neighborhood where I’ve been living for about a year. Then […]

There is no better window into the soul of America’s striving professional class than LinkedIn, a site that this year often seemed less like a networking platform than an extended group therapy session.  To doomscroll through it was to encounter one post after another about the barren landscape for job hunters — laments about resumes silently […]

Editor’s note, December 25, 8 am ET: This story is being republished for the holiday season. It was originally published in 2020. It might seem unbelievable given that the “Christmas creep” now begins before Halloween, but the true Christmas season actually starts on Christmas Day itself. That’s right: December 25 marks the official start of […]

Editor’s note, December 25, 8 am ET: This story is being republished for the holiday season. It was originally published in 2024. When I was about 7, Los Angeles public schools shifted to a “year-round” schedule. The effect, for my elementary school, was a shorter summer break (boo), and an extra-long winter break (also, it […]