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2024 was a busy time for Slate, reporting on a not-normal election (remember when Biden was the nominee?) and what the results mean for the country. But our readers still had a palate for stories beyond the news cycle: spanning all sections of the magazine, on topics ranging from strange airplane habits to an assessment of one of Hollywood’s most influential stars. This list is a testament to our audience, and we hope to bring a similar variety of stories in 2025.
1. For 20 Years, I Couldn’t Say What Donald Trump Did on the Set of The Apprentice. Now I Can.
Bill Pruitt—one of the founding producers of The Apprentice—was silenced by a nondisclosure agreement for two decades. Finally, free to speak, Pruitt gives a first-person account of the show’s early days and the great con the series pulled on America.
By Bill Pruit, May 30
2. A Key Plot Point From The Day After Tomorrow Is Set to Come True. Yes, It’s Freaky.
The collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation system isn’t just the stuff of movies. While no one knows exactly when it will happen, scientists say that it will be a mess.
By Anna Gibbs, Feb. 17
3. People Have Picked Up a Weird Habit When Flying. It’s Time to Stop.
Don’t let the window DJs tell you what to do. Flying is better with an open window shade.
By Henry Grabar, July 11
4. Netflix Sold Baby Reindeer, Its Hit About a Stalker, as a “True Story.” What Happened Next Was Inevitable.
Baby Reindeer received critical acclaim this spring. But the aftermath devolved into a sticky, difficult mess.
By Imogen West-Knights, May 3
5. Millions of Americans Are Streaming Hillbilly Elegy. Too Bad for J.D. Vance.
The VP-elect sold himself as a proud man of the people. The movie has a different message.
By Sam Adams, July 30
6. The Most Hated Band in Recent History Is Suddenly Beloved—and Even Cool. What Happened?
Slate Human Guinea Pig Luke Winkie went on a reunion cruise for “the worst band of the 1990s.” The group put on one of the best shows he’s ever seen.
By Luke Winkie, May 9
7. There’s a Lot of Fighting Over Why Harris Lost. But Everyone Seems to Want to Avoid This Explanation.
When Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump, people blamed demographics, trust in the system, her platform, the economy, and inflation resentment. But there’s a painfully obvious factor at play.
By Nadira Goffee, Nov. 10
8. Brad Pitt Has Shown Us Who He Is. Why Do We Refuse to See It?
The actor laundered his reputation again and again. We’ve been more than willing to let him.
By Scaachi Koul, Sept. 10
9. The 25 Most Important Recipes of the Past 100 Years
A century of American braising, baking, and imbibing, in one nation-spanning list.
By Dan Kois and J. Bryan Lowder, Nov. 20
10. It’s Illegal in Most of the World. In America, New Parents Are Embracing It—for Better or Worse.
If you could pick the sex of your child, would you? These people have already decided.
By Emi Nietfeld, May 7
Honorable Mentions
It Was One of 2023’s Most Shocking Crimes. The Year That Followed Was Even Harder to Explain.
In a Maine town, one store was a lifeline—and right in the middle of the deadliest tragedy ever in state history.
By Jaed Coffin, Dec. 4
I Went to a Pro-Trump Christian Revival. It Completely Changed My Understanding of Jan. 6.
They believe that Donald Trump was chosen by God to be president. They’re ready to do whatever it takes to make that happen.
By Molly Olmstead, Sept. 25
The 25 Best True-Crime Stories of All Time
Twenty-five podcasts, books, and movies that aren’t afraid of the dark.
By Hillary Frey, Laura Miller, and Cheyna Roth, Feb. 13
I Got a Concussion. I Didn’t Get Better. It Turned Out Even My Doctors Had Bought Into a Powerful Myth.
A look at how we got concussions so wrong.
By Isobel Whitcomb, March 17
It’s the Most Hated Airline in America. You’re Not Going to Like What Happens When It’s Gone.
Even if you’d never set foot on one of its planes, it’s already done more for you than you know.
By Scott Nover, Oct. 15
24 Hours of Subjective Wisdom
What time should you wake up? Quit working? Have sex? These are the correct answers.
By Slate Staff, Jan. 25
It’s an American Obsession. It’s Based on a Total Lie. We Have to Stop Before It’s Too Late.
The dirty secret about American highways—and how unlikely alliances can fix it.
By David Zipper, Aug. 28
How Originalism Ate The Law
This year, our esteemed jurisprudence team tackled the looming issue that is consuming the high courts: unpacking what “originalism” claims to be, and what it actually is. The concept finally ate itself in plain sight. It will eat us too, unless we choose to fight back.
By Slate Staff, May 8
Surfing the American Dream
What do a megamall and surfing have to do with the crisis among today’s teens? Sort of everything.
By Alex Sammon, May 23
Millions of Women Have Them. They’ve Radically Improved. Why Do Many of Us Understand So Shockingly Little About How They Work?
In the 1970s, a dangerous device hit the market. Today, millions of women use IUDs safely—but to many, they remain as mysterious as ever.
By Mia Armstrong-López, June 26
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