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Good morning. And Merry Christmas. We have something different for you today.
Every December, media organizations publish lists of the year’s “most read” stories (and you’ll see The Times’s list in a newsletter next week). But today — on Christmas — we’re going to do something different.
In 2020, three enormous stories — a pandemic, an election and a racial-justice movement — dominated the news. They were so big that they overshadowed many other subjects. So I asked top editors from across The Times to tell me their favorite overlooked articles that they published this year.
Overlooked is a subjective idea, of course, and maybe you have already read some of these. But I’m confident that many of you haven’t. They are a deeply human mix, filled with discovery, joy and pain. Some touch on the year’s big themes and others are entirely distinct.
So on this Dec. 25, we present you with 25 great stories:
1. Here lies the skull of Pliny the Elder, maybe.
2. The aging of dogs may provide useful clues for people.
11. In the last few years, female runners have gotten a lot faster.
12. A 16-year-old bridge player asked an 82-year-old player — one of the best ever — to team up with him for a tournament.
13. A reporter traveled 5,000 miles to say goodbye to her dad, from six feet away.
14. He took a bullet in New Zealand to save his son: a story of stubborn love battling a trauma that won’t let go.
15. She was denied access to a telescope because of her sex, but she forged ahead and made pathbreaking discoveries about the cosmos. E. Margaret Burbidge died at 100.
16. Modern-day prospectors are making thousands of dollars selling precious stones they’ve dug up.
17. “The Power Broker,” Robert Caro’s 1,246-page book, became the clichéd prop for TV appearances from home.
18. Is this New York City’s nicest public bathroom?
19. As a senator, Joe Biden spoke of transforming China through trade. He doesn’t anymore.
20. The military’s leadership is overwhelmingly white. Still, Lloyd Austin rose to the top.
21. The N.A.A.C.P. is trying to end manipulation by the energy industry.
22. The Times Magazine went behind the scenes to watch California inmates serving life sentences try to win parole.
23. Life on an icebreaker: constant darkness and minus 50 degrees Celsius.
24. Tad Jones, who lived in a forest for decades, faced an existential battle with a wildfire in Last Chance, Calif.
25. Black actors, authors and other creators talked about the art that inspires them.
A programming note: I’ll be off next week. My colleagues will be filling in, and The Morning will appear in your inbox each weekday. I’ll you see in 2021. — David
THE LATEST NEWS
The Stimulus
A Pandemic Christmas: Every year, Bethlehem attracts pilgrims, tourists and dignitaries, but the pandemic has left the West Bank town devoid of visitors, with hotels struggling and I.C.U. beds full.
Modern Love: A son gets to spend Christmas with his father, who was released from jail just in time.
Lives Lived: Xin Xing, the star of Chongqing Zoo in China, was the world’s oldest panda in captivity. She had more than 150 descendants in several countries. She died at 38, the equivalent of at least 110 in human years.
This holiday season, consider journalism that helps your friends and family understand what’s happening in the world and how to navigate it. Give a Times subscription today.
