Dear Jack
A father writes his son a note on election night. It gets passed around their family and friends—and soon the entire world. What viral impact looks like, post-Trump.
love
A collection of 90 issues
Honeymoon Sandy
A Manhattan wedding, a cancer scan, and the largest Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
Love in the Time of Catholicism
The Pope spoiled his trip to America by meeting with a Kentucky clerk. But his unheard praise of a different radical provides a silver lining.
Anything but Nothing
After a lifetime of mental illness, one woman opts to try electroconvulsive therapy. She discusses her decision with her sister.
The Girl on the Lawn
Forget anxiety, overcaution, or just plain unhappiness. The real problem with parenting is philosophy.
Our Imaginary Brother Only Watches PBS
How one family schemed to be the best TV-watchers in America.
Fight or Flight
A near-death experience makes this week’s International Asteroid Day a little more tricky to celebrate.
Our Dino Love Will Never Die
Dinosaurs haven’t been super-popular for 65 million years—it only feels that way. Fans and experts explain our obsession with dead monsters.
The Problem of the Flying Puppies
Catfishing is usually part of an online romance scam—not the world of expensive French bulldogs.
Ars Erotica
What one woman labels kinky, another person calls a crime against cake. Offering a taxonomy of erotic fixations.
Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle
Sometimes a bowl of noodles is big enough to absorb conversation, literature, and the love lives of those nearby.
The Limousine
Prom is a big night for many teenagers, full of firsts. First corsage. First big dance. Never mind first time in a limo—with disastrous results.
Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy
Before he was America's favorite philosopher comic, he was just another comedian out on tour. And she was the journalist he wanted to meet.
All Happy Couples Are Alike
Better to have loved and lost—and best to have written an essay about it. Surviving the Russian melodrama of young love.
Cafe Azteca
Love of food can be love’s most sincere form—especially when avocados are involved—but also bittersweet if paired with departure.
The Books
A couple’s decision to combine bookshelves supplies a series of revelations.
The Marriage Defense
The Supreme Court will soon deliver a definitive ruling on same-sex marriage, a subject that has roiled the United States since the colonial era—or not. A brief illustrated history.
The Kings of Simcoe County
At an Elvis festival in rural Canada, scores of tribute artists (not "impersonators") pay homage to the King. When searching for the meaning of it all, try not to overthink it.
The Long Play
A marriage in the digital era begins with an invitation to listen to a record. Rediscovering vinyl, sonic memories, and the joy of sitting down to do one single thing.
Alternate Forms for Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18
The Bard’s most famous sonnet very nearly wasn’t a Shakespearean sonnet. Rejected pairings of content and form, from rondelet to an acrostic hiding his name.
The Great Gtzzby
The Jazz Age blasts into orbit, adding oxygen parties and mighty pincers to the rise-and-fall decadence of the intergalactic one percent.
Blues on Wheels
A writer becomes a carrier for the United States Postal Service out of a long-held love for the mail. What she discovers are screams, threats, lies, labor violations, and dog attacks.
Happiness Is a Pink Gun
Mainstream country music is dominated by bros singing about girls in cutoffs and drinking tequila. But some female country artists are ready to exchange fire.
How to Unmarry Your Wife
After moving from a state that recognizes same-sex marriage to one that doesn’t, a couple’s marriage becomes a partnership, and they are suddenly forced into new roles.
Mating Habits of the Asterisk
Living out of a van, without an address to pin you down, can be blissful and carefree, and occasionally miserable. But the same goes for love.
The Übersinner
Reddit's “Ask Me Anything” interviews—edited for the seven deadly sins—provide an Idolatry of Self so big, it produces Zen koans.
One Crazy Summer
Here comes summer, when the yoke of responsibility loosens. We all have our past indiscretions, but they’re too sordid to sign our names to—so we’ve removed the names and rearranged the text to protect the guilty.
Glad I’m Not You
The instinct to applaud boot-strapping and the comeback kid is as American as apple pie. So why does schadenfreude make us feel so good?
Essaying Through Life
A youthful pledge to become an essayist gets lost.
Chrissy Smoked
Twice a year, a group of friends gathered in a coal-mining pocket of Pennsylvania—friends in their twenties with fragile identities, who didn’t know yet what would happen.
The Least Likely of Objects
Dreams of a Matalin-Carville romance tempt a young Washington journalist covering the death of a dictator to cross party lines in pursuit of love.
One Small Store
Two men, separated by more than 150 years, discover the folly of attempting Western-style capitalism in Micronesia.
My Scummy Valentine
The only thing worse than Valentine's Day is a crappy Valentine's Day. A handful of TMN writers and editors dish (anonymously) on their worst dates—crying men, rugby brawls, and a dislocated sacroiliac joint.
White Rabbit
When illness erases the fine line between love and obsession.
Born, Still
A newborn wavers between life and something else. For the father, a walk in the woods elucidates the struggle between nature and nurture.
Our Hallow’s Eve
When dementia gets its grip on a father who always loved slasher movies, a daughter struggles to hold on—if only to the ghost of recognition.
The Case of the Hungry Stranger
A man is always more complicated than his paper trail—especially when he’s your father, who walked out one day.
The Real Me
The internet is an unrelenting enabler of our flaws and an unforgiving archive of them—so should you google your new love interest, or hold off? And what if they google you first?
Bad Land
America is full of guns—one gun for every citizen—and Americans often use them to shoot one another. It’s not enough anymore to say we love our guns. The question is: Why do we kill?
Hiss and Hers
When you fall for someone, you fall for everything that comes with them: their beliefs, their passions, and American history’s most infamous typewriter.
Here's the Thing About Silver Linings
The Oscars are consistently irrational, but we wanted more for David O. Russell's fantastic Silver Linings Playbook. Film critics David Haglund, Pasha Malla, and Michelle Orange discuss why the movie so divided critical opinion, and became such a hit with audiences.
A Supposedly Fun Thing I Will Probably Do Again
Yesterday morning, a plane landed at an airport. A man who was or was not a famous actor, and a writer who was or was not in love with him, stood on the verge of finally meeting. A Valentine's Day story for the romantic and/or foolish at heart.
German Philosophy for Immigrants
The line to speak with a consular official is never so long as when you’re studying 19th-century philosophy and everything you desire exists on the other side of an ocean.
Separate Housewives
A happy cul de sac experiences its first affair. Soon every living room—every computer screen—reverberates with news bulletins. Even for the Facebook generation, divorce comes with surprises.
Announcing the 2013 Tournament of Books
The ides of March may be four months away, but a certain rooster is sick of waiting. Introducing the finalists and judges for TMN's ninth annual Tournament of Books, presented by NOOK® by Barnes & Noble.
Heaven Can Wait
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, advice for a lovelorn atheist who wants to know if a Christian could love him back.
Tiny Castles of Doom
Read between the lines of a to-do list, and you'll find an artfully constructed maze of excuses. A challenge to complete five things before the end of summer, or before you die—whichever comes first.
Call and Response
Sometimes a book appears in your life and starts to pester you. The characters act like your friends. Events occur in the plot that reappear inside your home. It’s enough to drive a man to wonder which world is more real, until danger appears.
Fight Night
The recent Pacquiao-Márquez match was full of lust, anger, calculation, sport—the same as what's occurring across America, in Zuccotti Park, in Congress, in every household with a bullet-skulled parent. Boxing is the sport of the now, and its lessons will be useful tonight.
America, You Are the Biblioracle
Today, from 2-3:00 p.m., the Biblioracle will use his magical powers to recommend the next book you'll love. Prior to that, a call-to-arms to save the plight of reading and an announcement about the 2012 Tournament of Books reader-judge contest.
Sex Lives of the Saints
Once you begin imagining yourself as the romantic lead in a novel—and convince others of it as well—you won’t want to stop.
The Things She Carried
Once a relationship is past the point of repair, once her Go Bag is packed for leaving, some things are better set down on paper than spoken aloud.
Marriage, Israeli Style
For Israelis of a certain age, marriage beckons. But in this cradle of so many religions, a tangle of ancient rules and modern laws makes things surprisingly complicated.
The Secret Point of Money and Power
Over time, a couple shares a bed, a past, and money. But when the relationship ends, as accounts are counted and paid, some debts are more complicated than they seem.
The Day Borders Got the Wobblies
As Borders liquidates its merchandise, a former employee of store #21 looks back at a glorious workplace—of quirky managers, Borders gypsies, the odyssey to stack more than Hobby/Collectibles—and the moment when salvation seemed at hand to save the chain.
Man-barrass Your Way to Love
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week, we show you how a well-chosen nickname can bend your mate’s will.
Indelible
Sisters are like ships—passing in the night, traveling as allies, or attacking one another with every gun and cannon. Sisterhood, however, is ultimately about unity.
Your Third Nipple
All your life, you thought you just had an odd-looking little mole. From 2011, what it’s like when a doctor says that you belong in the ranks of Marky Mark, centuries of witches, and Krusty the Clown.
Drawn to Dogs
Pet people and non-pet people are different breeds for whom inter-species communication can be impossible. Then along comes the ugliest dog in the world. A study of one heart’s redoing.
Not for Navigational Purposes
Maps are useful in jungles, classrooms, and when you need to cross a bombing ground during a storm. But they’re pointless when love implodes.
I Love You in Europe
Romance is in the air during February, especially when the air smells vaguely European.
The Two Shmuels
The day-to-day returns, but the sense of danger is still palpable to the Golem and Ruth. Reluctantly, he returns to his blog, this time with a prompt.
Bright Sun, Long Shadows
As the Cardinals fought for a playoff berth in August, I watched my father-in-law in his own personal battle. A tale of victory and loss.
Intensive Care
Every mother worries her child could suddenly become ill. For one, motherhood requires living with the fear that her son could become just like her.
True Story
A pause in the action, as the Golem recounts important moments in the brothels and strip clubs from his past, both recent and not-so-recent.
Brief Scenes From Our Marriage
First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the Opposite of Feng Shui. A marriage, told in four parts.
How to Survive a Crush
Two decades after high school days spent yearning to be a part of the “in” crowd, our writer confronts her former dream date, now a best-selling author, and her former self.
You’re Just Not That Into You
Looking for love in all the wrong places? Maybe you should try closer to home. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a new book helps you ladies purge your self-loathing.
Does He Love You?
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. Following our popular guide regarding girls, how to know if the ideal man digs you or not.
Love, Lies, and Online Dating
Either you've done it or you know someone who has: online dating, the scourge and savior of contemporary romance. A panel of experts discusses love 2.0.
Giant in the House
Parents can seem larger in life to their children, but some truly are giants. Recounting the death of her stepfather, for whom nothing was easier by being freakishly big.
Emails From My Father
Emails have about as much room for nuance as Post-It notes, and less staying power. But sometimes they’re pure poetry.
Three Simple Ways to Abandon Your Family
When enough is enough, when federal investigators are on your trail, or you’ve decided to marry that cocktail waitress after all—it’s time to leave.
How to Say I Love You
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we pull out all the stops to help a reader say "I love you," in precisely 100 different ways.
Sacrifice
From choosing a mousetrap to moving across the country, parenting requires tough decisions.
My Bloodthirsty Valentine
What says true love better than ear-shattering shrieks interspersed with low, guttural growling? If you're in the market for a uniquely thoughtful Valentine's Day present, we have the perfect, possibly rabies-infected gift for you.
This Is Not a Eulogy
This is an appreciation. Our friend, writer, editor, and teacher Leslie Harpold recently died. A memorial for a woman who was difficult to describe--and who couldn't stand sentimental bullshit.
Chicken
Don’t know art but know what you like? How would you like to buy some art and never receive it? Falling for a painting and getting something unexpected in return.
Amuse Bouche
To butter or not to butter: That is the question, and gluttons with high cholesterol should know the correct answer. But when friends organize a gastronomic tour of Paris, who am I to say no?
Alito: A Love Story
When a forbidden love is requited, its consequences will touch us all. A shocking, tender tale of romance, obsession... and murder.
Does She Love You?
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything, even the oldest questions. Such as, how can you tell if a girl loves you or not?
Our Faded Summers
It may be something in the sunscreen, but funny things happen during summer: dehydration, Lyme disease, brief romantic flings. Collected writings of love lost and won (but mostly lost).
Valentine's Gift Guide
The heart-shaped box of chocolates was sweet and the bouquet of roses was lovely, but your Valentine deserves a surprise this year.
Broken Hearts
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we explain the many steps of recovery after your heart's been ripped out, stepped on, and sold for scrap.
Poetry for Your Girlfriend
Experts answer what they know. The Non-Expert answers anything. This week we play the eloquent Cyrano to an anonymous Christian, and script poesy for the tongue-tied.
Love in the Time of Smallpox
Terror warnings be damned! This Valentine’s Day you can hug with your honey without fear of attack—with these handy tips.
A Game of Skill, Strategy, Chance
Since dating is already a game, it may be unwise to found a relationship on a shared passion for Sorry. Our writer ignores the meta-implications and tries to play by the rules.
Bienvenue au Musée Renteria
Like many modern painters, the extremely famous Renteria had issues with women. Our writer shares a guide he picked up at Renteria’s museum.
Chagrin and Men I Have Loved
Shark attacks, public gaffes, ruining a prom dress: as topics for nightmares, any may cause a bad night’s sleep. But only our writer has survived them all in full daylight, with the help of a few good men.
Easy Like Drinking Water
Wallace was clean and freshly showered. He adjusted the speed on the cruise control to an even sixty and stared out the window at the rows of cattails growing on the side of the turnpike. Through their tawny, rowed communities he could see New York approach from the east, a