Editors' Choice
Harvard’s Taylor Swift Scholar on “The Life of a Showgirl”
For Harvard English professor Stephanie Burt, “The Life of a Showgirl” is not, as it was for me, a confusing, Travis Kelce-themed departure from the artist I’d known and loved most of my life. Rather, Burt says, it’s a retrospective.
This is not a review of PopUp Bagels.
PopUp Bagels, the “not famous but known” bagel shop (whatever the hell that means), boasts the lightning-quick wait times of a Ray Kroc McDonald’s on steroids, serving customers nearly instantly by chucking their orders into brown paper bags.
Pit Stop Before Sincerity Hits Too Hard
Back then, I never wondered who she was beyond my mother. Her life seemed fully formed, on track, speeding down a highway. I was the asshole who cut her off.
The BerryLine Line Lines the Street and It’s Berry, Berry Long.
The sheer length of the line has caused many to scratch their heads and wonder: what changed?
The Electronic Instrument Design Lab Says Goodbye to Jim MacArthur
Jim MacArthur manages Harvard’s Electronic Instrument Design Lab, fulfilling specific instrumentation requests across departments as what he calls a “short-order engineer.” After 25 years, he’s announced his retirement with a year’s notice, but he doesn’t know if a replacement will be hired.
Scientists and the Face of God
I believed in science, but I also believed in agency. To think of myself as a machine driven by chemical reactions beyond my control felt outrageous. I knew myself to be more than just a body. I wanted to believe that I was also a mind.
Visiting your internet-free cafe won’t satiate my bottomless hunger for brainrot
I’m more certain than ever that memes are at the top of my food pyramid, and I’m disillusioned from any notion that matcha and mousse might sufficiently correct my diet.
The Case for Studying Abroad in Cuba
I remember being afraid of two things as I left Cuba: that the language would leave me and that, as I attempted to convey the last four months to people gnawing at the bit for answers to the questions about this mythical place, I would fail to do the island justice.
Dear Senior Year
I love the life Harvard has given me, not because it’s been perfect, but because it hasn’t been. Freshman year exhilarated me, sophomore year disarmed me, junior year repaired me, and you, senior year, have made me proud.
Ed Childs Didn’t Plan to Come to Harvard. After 50 Years, He’s Still Organizing Its Workers.
Over a half-century of organizing, he has seen the union through two strikes, participated in dozens of demonstrations, and traversed the globe in search of other workers’ stories.
Bar None
Harvard Square (and Cambridge more broadly) is in desperate need of sports bars. What gives?
In Pursuit of Knowledge
I have found my place at Harvard by leaving it, using Harvard resources to open my eyes to the broader world.
What’s Next in the Fight for Harvard’s Future?
Lawrence H. Summers, a former Harvard president and Secretary of the Treasury, backs the University’s decision to push back against the Trump administration, explains how the endowment could help weather the storm, and says this crisis will ultimately strengthen higher education.
Luxor Cafe, After Dark
People are crowded around tables, playing cards, Connect 4, Othello, and other games taken from a nearby communal shelf. One wall is decorated with Egyptian hieroglyphics, another with a span of Polaroids.
An Inhabitable Archive
What stays behind isn’t paint or plaster; it’s the way we’ve marked each other when the walls themselves were the only witnesses.
Critique of Pure Criticism
From rhapsode to New Yorker critic, why are we so bad at defending the humanities?
Planting a Seed
It seems unfair to say I love someone who I never knew completely. It’s hard to understand how it could even be possible. I have no evidence, no explicit reason why I should love him aside from the blood we share and his undeniable part in giving me life. Yet, I do love my dad and I miss the chance I had at being his daughter, blooming in his image.
The 16,000 Generation Yeast
Michael M. Desai, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and of Physics, hopes to leverage the common fungus to answer an age-old question: How did we come to be?
Contingency
Most predictions are contingents: over a hundred species will go extinct tomorrow; Mexico City will run out of water in the next decade; I will witness climate collapse within my lifetime. All statements about the future, neither inevitable nor impossible.
What If?
In the New York Times’ building in Times Square, there is a front-page story that will never see the light of day. All that was left was the headline: “Madam President: Clinton Defeats Trump In Historic Victory.”
Are We Doing Friendship Wrong?
Alex Chueh wants to turn to anyone anywhere and strike up a conversation. Which is exactly what he’s done — over 1,000 times since 2022.
What I Didn’t Learn From Quitting Coffee For a Week
I sincerely believed this week would lead me to some incredible Reason Why You Need to Quit Coffee Now — you know, one of those things that makes a good headline. At the very least, I figured it would give me something to brag about while the semester took its toll.