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Many of the stories our readers spent time with this year revealed a curiosity about the historical events that shaped current circumstances at home and abroad, and a desire to examine humanity’s best and worst impulses. Spend some of your Sunday with 12 don’t-miss stories of the past year.
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Your 2023 Reading List
Inside the Meltdown at CNN
By Tim Alberta
CEO Chris Licht felt he was on a mission to restore the network’s reputation for serious journalism. How did it all go wrong?
The Billion-Dollar Ponzi Scheme That Hooked Warren Buffett and the U.S. Treasury
By Ariel Sabar
How a small-town auto mechanic peddling a green-energy breakthrough pulled off a massive scam
The Decolonization Narrative Is Dangerous and False
By Simon Sebag Montefiore
It does not accurately describe either the foundation of Israel or the tragedy of the Palestinians.
How America Got Mean
By David Brooks
In a culture devoid of moral education, generations are growing up in a morally inarticulate, self-referential world.
The Patriot
By Jeffrey Goldberg
How General Mark Milley protected the Constitution from Donald Trump
A Star Reporter’s Break With Reality
By Elaina Plott Calabro
Lara Logan was once a respected 60 Minutes correspondent. Now she trades in conspiracy theories that even far-right media disavow. What happened?
The Puzzling Gap Between How Old You Are and How Old You Think You Are
By Jennifer Senior
There are good reasons you always feel 20 percent younger than your actual age.
What Mitt Romney Saw in the Senate
By McKay Coppins
In an exclusive excerpt from Coppins’s biography of Romney, the senator reveals what drove him to retire.
What the Longest Study on Human Happiness Found Is the Key to a Good Life
By Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz
The Harvard Study of Adult Development has established a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being. The question is, how does a person nurture those deep relationships?
The Children of the Nazis’ Genetic Project
By Valentine Faure
Across Europe, some adoptees have had to face a dark realization about their origins.
I Never Called Her Momma
By Jenisha Watts
I came to New York sure of one thing—that no one could ever know my past.
The Fake Poor Bride
By Xochitl Gonzalez
In my decade-plus as a luxury-wedding planner, I saw it all: reality-TV brides, a scam from multimillionaires, even a bride who pretended to be poor.
Photo Album
This year’s landscape-photography competition received more than 4,000 entries from around the world. Here are some of the top and winning images.
Katherine Hu contributed to this newsletter.
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