The Top Twenty-five <em>New Yorker</em> Stories of 2024
2024 in ReviewReaders spent the most time this year on articles involving fraudulent identities, Kanye West, the turbulent U.S. election and its aftermath, and other memorable topics.By Michael LuoDecember 17, 2024Play/Pause ButtonPauseIllustration by Timo LenzenYou’re reading The New Yorker’s daily newsletter, a guide to our top stories, featuring exclusive insights from our writers and editors. Sign up to receive it in your in-box.The editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick—my boss—likes to say that what we do at the magazine is “weird.” What he means is that it can be hard to convey The New Yorker’s essence in an elevator pitch or on a PowerPoint slide. We’re not easy to categorize. We publish deeply reported investigative stories and dispatches from writers in war zones; on Election Day, we stationed reporters in battleground states across the country and maintained a live blog and map with precinct-level results. But we also publish cultural criticism, fiction, poetry, and cartoons––interspersed, in print and online, among thousands of words.2024 in ReviewNew Yorker writers reflect on the year’s highs and lows.The most popular New Yorker stories of 2024, as measured by “engaged minutes”—the total time people spent reading them—reflects this breadth, and quirkiness. There are riveting narrative features by Patrick Radden Keefe, Rachel Aviv, and Eren Orbey. There’s a piece by Sam Knight about the British Conservative Party, a personal essay about the birth of a child and the death of a marriage by Leslie Jamison, and a story by D. T. Max about a woman who spent five hundred days in a cave. How exactly to characterize Ian Parker’s feature on Kanye West’s former home, designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando? It’s an exploration of celebrity, avant-garde design, and human folly. Perhaps it’s best simply to call it a great read.Predictably, after one of the most tumultuous Presidential campaigns in memory, politics is amply represented: Evan Osnos’s Profile—pre-debate-meltdown—of Joe Biden; Clare Malone’s Profile of R.F.K., Jr., which included a memorable scoop about a dead bear; Jessica Winter’s piece about complications in the story that J. D. Vance tells about his grandparents; and Jane Mayer’s examination of Pete Hegseth’s troubled employment history. A recent piece, which has continued to climb the list right up to publication, is Jia Tolentino’s reflection on how the public reacted to the execution-style shooting of the UnitedHealthcare C.E.O.Our hope is that readers use this list as they do our end-of-year lists of books, TV shows, music, podcasts, and the like. Consider them reading recommendations, a chance to dive into stories you missed or would like to revisit. They are a way to think about the year gone by and to catch a glimpse of what lies ahead.1. “A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into the London Underworld”By Patrick Radden KeefeAfter Zac Brettler mysteriously plummeted into the Thames, his grieving parents discovered that he’d been posing as an oligarch’s son. Would the police help them solve the puzzle of his death?2. “The Essential Reads of 2024”By The New YorkerEach week, our editors and critics recommend the most captivating, notable, brilliant, thought-provoking, and talked-about books. Now, as 2024 comes to an end, we’ve chosen a dozen essential reads in nonfiction and a dozen, too, in fiction and poetry.3. “A British Nurse Was Found Guilty of Killing Seven Babies. Did She Do It?”By Rachel AvivColleagues reportedly called Lucy Letby an “angel of death,” and the Prime Minister condemned her. But, in the rush to judgment, serious questions about the evidence were ignored.Photograph by Sarah Blesener for The New Yorker4. “A Husband in the Aftermath of His Wife’s Unfathomable Act”By Eren OrbeyPatrick Clancy’s wife killed their children during a postpartum mental-health crisis. Prosecutors describe a clear-headed scheme, but Clancy says, “I wasn’t married to a monster—I was married to someone who got sick.”5. “The Birth of My Daughter, the Death of My Marriage”By Leslie JamisonNow that I was doing little besides keeping this tiny creature alive, it was impossible to ignore my desire to wander the streets with our baby, in ever-widening loops away from home.6. “Election 2024: Presidential, House, and Senate Results Map | Donald Trump Defeats Kamala Harris, Republicans Win the House and Senate”By The New YorkerThe vote counts from the Presidential, House, Senate, and gubernatorial elections.Photograph by Dan Winters for The New Yorker7. “What Does Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Actually Want?”By Clare MaloneThe third-party Presidential candidate has a troubled past, a shambolic campaign, and some surprisingly good poll numbers.8. “What Have Fourteen Years of Conservative Rule Done to Britain?”By Sam KnightLiving standards have fallen. The country is exhausted by constant drama. But the U.K. can’t move on from the Tories without facing up to the damage that has occurred.Photograph by Spencer Lowell for T
The editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick—my boss—likes to say that what we do at the magazine is “weird.” What he means is that it can be hard to convey The New Yorker’s essence in an elevator pitch or on a PowerPoint slide. We’re not easy to categorize. We publish deeply reported investigative stories and dispatches from writers in war zones; on Election Day, we stationed reporters in battleground states across the country and maintained a live blog and map with precinct-level results. But we also publish cultural criticism, fiction, poetry, and cartoons––interspersed, in print and online, among thousands of words.
New Yorker writers reflect on the year’s highs and lows.
The most popular New Yorker stories of 2024, as measured by “engaged minutes”—the total time people spent reading them—reflects this breadth, and quirkiness. There are riveting narrative features by Patrick Radden Keefe, Rachel Aviv, and Eren Orbey. There’s a piece by Sam Knight about the British Conservative Party, a personal essay about the birth of a child and the death of a marriage by Leslie Jamison, and a story by D. T. Max about a woman who spent five hundred days in a cave. How exactly to characterize Ian Parker’s feature on Kanye West’s former home, designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando? It’s an exploration of celebrity, avant-garde design, and human folly. Perhaps it’s best simply to call it a great read.
Predictably, after one of the most tumultuous Presidential campaigns in memory, politics is amply represented: Evan Osnos’s Profile—pre-debate-meltdown—of Joe Biden; Clare Malone’s Profile of R.F.K., Jr., which included a memorable scoop about a dead bear; Jessica Winter’s piece about complications in the story that J. D. Vance tells about his grandparents; and Jane Mayer’s examination of Pete Hegseth’s troubled employment history. A recent piece, which has continued to climb the list right up to publication, is Jia Tolentino’s reflection on how the public reacted to the execution-style shooting of the UnitedHealthcare C.E.O.
Our hope is that readers use this list as they do our end-of-year lists of books, TV shows, music, podcasts, and the like. Consider them reading recommendations, a chance to dive into stories you missed or would like to revisit. They are a way to think about the year gone by and to catch a glimpse of what lies ahead.
1. “A Teen’s Fatal Plunge Into the London Underworld”
After Zac Brettler mysteriously plummeted into the Thames, his grieving parents discovered that he’d been posing as an oligarch’s son. Would the police help them solve the puzzle of his death?
2. “The Essential Reads of 2024”
Each week, our editors and critics recommend the most captivating, notable, brilliant, thought-provoking, and talked-about books. Now, as 2024 comes to an end, we’ve chosen a dozen essential reads in nonfiction and a dozen, too, in fiction and poetry.
3. “A British Nurse Was Found Guilty of Killing Seven Babies. Did She Do It?”
Colleagues reportedly called Lucy Letby an “angel of death,” and the Prime Minister condemned her. But, in the rush to judgment, serious questions about the evidence were ignored.
4. “A Husband in the Aftermath of His Wife’s Unfathomable Act”
Patrick Clancy’s wife killed their children during a postpartum mental-health crisis. Prosecutors describe a clear-headed scheme, but Clancy says, “I wasn’t married to a monster—I was married to someone who got sick.”
5. “The Birth of My Daughter, the Death of My Marriage”
Now that I was doing little besides keeping this tiny creature alive, it was impossible to ignore my desire to wander the streets with our baby, in ever-widening loops away from home.
6. “Election 2024: Presidential, House, and Senate Results Map | Donald Trump Defeats Kamala Harris, Republicans Win the House and Senate”
The vote counts from the Presidential, House, Senate, and gubernatorial elections.
7. “What Does Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Actually Want?”
The third-party Presidential candidate has a troubled past, a shambolic campaign, and some surprisingly good poll numbers.
8. “What Have Fourteen Years of Conservative Rule Done to Britain?”
Living standards have fallen. The country is exhausted by constant drama. But the U.K. can’t move on from the Tories without facing up to the damage that has occurred.
9. “Kanye West Bought an Architectural Treasure—Then Gave It a Violent Remix”
How the hip-hop star’s beautiful, dark, twisted fantasy turned a beach house in Malibu, designed by the Japanese master Tadao Ando, into a ruin.
10. “Why So Many People Are Going ‘No Contact’ with Their Parents”
A growing movement wants to destigmatize severing ties. Is it a much-needed corrective, or a worrisome change in family relations?
11. “Pete Hegseth’s Secret History”
A whistle-blower report and other documents suggest that Trump’s nominee to run the Pentagon was forced out of previous leadership positions for financial mismanagement, sexist behavior, and being repeatedly intoxicated on the job.
12. “A Man Was Murdered in Cold Blood and You’re Laughing?”
What the death of a health-insurance C.E.O. means to America.
13. “Joe Biden’s Last Campaign”
Trailing Trump in polls and facing doubts about his age, the President voices defiant confidence in his prospects for reëlection.
14. “How to Die in Good Health”
The average American celebrates just one healthy birthday after the age of sixty-five. Peter Attia argues that it doesn’t have to be this way.
15. “The Woman Who Spent Five Hundred Days in a Cave”
Beatriz Flamini liked to be alone so much that she decided to live underground—and pursue a world record. The experience was gruelling and surreal.
16. “Master of Make-Believe”
A struggling actor struck it rich in Hollywood—then the F.B.I. showed up.
17. “How a Homegrown Teen Gang Punctured the Image of an Upscale Community”
The authorities didn’t seem to pay attention to the Gilbert Goons until one boy was dead and seven others were charged with murder.
18. “A Professor Claimed to Be Native American. Did She Know She Wasn’t?”
Elizabeth Hoover, who has taught at Brown and Berkeley, insists that she made an honest mistake. Her critics say she has been lying for more than a decade.
19. “The Rise and Fall of the Trad Wife”
Alena Kate Pettitt helped lead an online movement promoting domesticity. Now she says, “It’s become its own monster.”
20. “Why You Can’t Get a Restaurant Reservation”
How bots, mercenaries, and table scalpers have turned the restaurant reservation system inside out.
21. “The Americans Prepping for a Second Civil War”
Many now believe that the U.S. could descend into political violence. Some are joining survivalist communities, canning food—and buying guns.
22. “Ina Garten and the Age of Abundance”
The Barefoot Contessa looks back at a career built on fantasies of comfort and plenty.
23. “RuPaul Doesn’t See How That’s Any of Your Business”
The drag star brought the form mainstream, and made an empire out of queer expression. Now he fears “the absolute worst.”
24. “The Price of Netanyahu’s Ambition”
Amid war with Hamas, a hostage crisis, the devastation of Gaza, and Israel’s splintering identity, the Prime Minister seems unable to distinguish between his own interests and his country’s.
25. “The Story That ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Doesn’t Tell”
Like many memoirs, J. D. Vance’s book misses a few details, some of which complicate the story upon which he has based much of his politics. ♦
