How identity, creativity and communities evolve.
Explore the people, ideas and cultural shifts changing how we see ourselves and one another. Our coverage connects arts, media and identity to the institutions and communities shaping their direction.
Viral footage from a Houston appearance has reignited criticism of the R&B singer’s live shows. Some fans are asking whether they got the performance they paid for. Others are speculating about her personal life. Those are not the same conversation.
Four mass shootings in four states over one weekend left two people dead and 23 wounded. Americans mourn, communities recover and daily life goes on. The frequency of these attacks raises an unsettling question: how much violence can a society learn to live around?
At a Michigan campaign rally, Donald Trump commented on Nicki Minaj’s backside before asking her to stand. Hours after a White House aide floated her for press secretary, the moment brought a very different kind of attention to one of his most visible celebrity supporters, raising questions about gender, political loyalty and the increasingly personal nature of their alliance.
The rapper’s ride aboard Air Force One prompted a senior Trump aide to float her name for one of Washington’s most visible jobs, a post that has been empty since the last press secretary lasted five days. Whether the suggestion was serious or not, it shows how celebrity has become part of the White House communications strategy.
A former NBA player’s gym photo turned into a podcast segment about whether he looked gay. The reaction shows how one ambiguous word lets audiences police masculinity while no one answers for it.
A creator’s explanation video shows how platforms turn a personal preference into a public trial, and why the people being discussed never get a say.
Boston Logan International Airport wants a new voice to welcome millions of travelers. Thousands of Massachusetts residents auditioned, eight finalists remain, and the public gets the final say. But the competition comes as researchers warn that the city’s most recognizable accent is becoming less common.
The invitation is warm. The menu is expensive. I have been the guy paying for rounds I never drank and the guy picking the spot, and saying no shouldn’t mean admitting more than you want your friends to know.
Americans have spent generations dressing more casually. Now joggers, performance tees and trainers have become the everyday uniform for men like me, and my closet has changed so much that I sometimes pick where to go out based on whether I can wear them.
Ahead of his milestone birthday, Drake stepped out in New York wearing a dramatic fringed wrap and leather trousers, another sign that men’s fashion no longer follows the old rules.
A competitor’s death onstage in England and new research documenting dozens of sudden cardiac deaths are putting pressure on a sport that rewards physiques no judge can see inside.
A preference becomes a double standard when a man’s fill-ins and dye count as self-care and a woman’s lashes and wigs become evidence that she is fake.
Get SSC’s briefings and analysis in your inbox, or help us bring new reporting and expert voices to the conversation.