Quit Lying to Yourself
Real happiness starts with telling yourself the truth, even when it hurts.
We Live By a Unit of Time That Doesn’t Make Sense
The seven-day week has survived for millennia, despite attempts to make it less chaotic.
The Most Awkward Part of Living With Your Parents as an Adult
For many young adults, living in their family’s home is a new norm. Their dates still don’t always get it.
What It’s Like to Truly Be Friends With Your Ex
“We can’t always neatly break things into ‘friends’ or ‘more than friends.’ There’s different kinds of love.”
No One Cares!
Our fears about what other people think of us are overblown and rarely worth fretting over.
Parental Leave Is American Exceptionalism at Its Bleakest
The U.S. is the only wealthy country in the world that leaves new parents to fend for themselves.
What Collective Narcissism Does to Society
In everyday settings, it can keep people from listening to one another. At its worst, it might fuel violence.
What Winter-Haters Get Wrong
Chasing the sun usually isn’t worth it. Learn to like the climate you’ve got instead.
The Strange Origins of American Birthday Celebrations
For most people, birthdays were once just another day. Industrialization changed that.
What Becoming a Parent Really Does to Your Happiness
Research has found that having children is terrible for quality of life—but the truth about what parenthood means for happiness is a lot more complicated.
When You Find the Best Friend You’ve Been Longing For
“I’d look at people, when they’d use the term best friend. I was like, I want one of those.”
The Disguises We Wear Every Day
Hiding your feelings can be freeing. But eventually you have to take off the mask.
A Patriarchal Tradition That Just Won’t Budge
Straight, married couples in the U.S. still almost always give kids the father’s last name. Why?
How Home Cooks Work Smarter, Not Harder
A new cookbook by the food journalist Priya Krishna and the chef David Chang emphasizes intuition and experimentation—and embraces the humble microwave.
A High-Risk Group With a Tragically Low Vaccination Rate
Only about 25 percent of expectant mothers have gotten a COVID-19 shot during their pregnancy. Worried for their baby’s health, many have opted for what feels safe, rather than what is safe.
The Meaning of Life Is Surprisingly Simple
You can make your quest for meaning manageable by breaking it down into three bite-size dimensions.
The Hidden Costs of Living Alone
In ways both large and small, American society still assumes that the default adult has a partner and that the default household contains multiple people.
The Staggering Number of Kids Who Have Lost a Parent to COVID-19
Even if children are less vulnerable to the coronavirus, they don’t suffer any less from the loss it causes.
When Friendship Is a Family Matter
“The bond that we have and the experiences that we’ve shared, I don’t really think ‘friends’ captures that.”
‘Gen Z’ Only Exists in Your Head
The dividing lines between generations are a figment of our collective imagination.