Note: This post has been updated to include Kristen Roupenian’s “Cat Person,” which has become the second most-read New Yorker article of the year since its publication, in our December 11th issue.
Determining The New Yorker’s “most popular” pieces of the year is a surprisingly fraught process. Should the measurement be page views, visitors, or some other criteria? From a financial standpoint, The New Yorker is increasingly dependent upon its loyal readers, people who come back again and again to our stories and, eventually, subscribe. As a result, when it came to selecting the most-read New Yorker stories of 2017, we decided to base our list on the total number of minutes that readers spent on an article. We felt that was the best measure of what we’re interested in—getting readers to engage deeply with what we do. The resulting list is a diverse collection. It includes a Books piece by Elizabeth Kolbert, about the human mind and the limits of reason; a pitch-perfect Daily Shouts by Colin Nissan, about a call between a 911 operator and someone who works from home; an essay by the actress Molly Ringwald on her experiences of sexual harassment in Hollywood; and, to our surprise and delight, a short story by a relatively unknown author that struck a chord with millions of readers online.
The balance, though, is composed of exclusive reporting: Ronan Farrow’s culture-shifting investigation of the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein; Ryan Lizza’s staggering phone conversation with the short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci; deeply reported profiles by Jane Mayer of Vice-President Mike Pence and Robert Mercer, the hedge-fund tycoon behind the Trump Presidency; Rachel Aviv’s investigation of guardians preying on the elderly; Evan Osnos’s exploration of the risk of nuclear war with North Korea, based on a reporting trip to Pyongyang; Patrick Radden Keefe’s investigations of the financier Carl Icahn and of the Sackler family’s involvement in the opioid crisis; Charles Bethea’s reporting on rumors that the Senate candidate Roy Moore was banned from an Alabama shopping center because of troubling interactions with teen-age girls; and much more. I’m biased, but to me it’s the kind of journalism worth coming back to repeatedly. If you’re not a loyal New Yorker reader now, we hope you become one in the new year. (To stay on top of what we do every day, try downloading our Today app and signing up for our daily newsletter.) Here’s a look back at our most engaging pieces of 2017.
Multiple women share harrowing accounts of sexual assault and harassment by the film executive. Read more.
“It was a terrible kiss, shockingly bad; Margot had trouble believing that a grown man could possibly be so bad at kissing.” Read more.
He started by threatening to fire the entire White House communications staff. It escalated from there. Read more.
The film executive hired private investigators, including ex-Mossad agents, to track actresses and journalists. Read more.
The Constitution offers two main paths for removing a President from office. How feasible are they? Read more.
Trump’s critics yearn for his exit. But Mike Pence, the corporate right’s inside man, poses his own risks. Read more.
Some of the wealthiest people in America—in Silicon Valley, New York, and beyond—are getting ready for the crackup of civilization. Read more.
New discoveries about the human mind show the limitations of reason. Read more.
What lay behind Russia’s interference in the 2016 election—and what lies ahead? Read more.
With right-wing zealots taking over the legislature even as the state’s demographics shift leftward, Texas has become the nation’s bellwether. Read more.
On the ground in Pyongyang: Could Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump goad each other into a devastating confrontation? Read more.
The President helped build a hotel in Azerbaijan that appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Read more.
“Then I got sucked into watching a YouTube video about meerkats.” Read more.
Guardians can sell the assets and control the lives of senior citizens without their consent—and reap a profit from it. Read more.
How Robert Mercer exploited America’s populist insurgency. Read more.
West Virginia has the highest overdose death rate in the country. Locals are fighting to save their neighbors—and their towns—from destruction. Read more.
The Sackler dynasty’s ruthless marketing of painkillers has generated billions of dollars—and millions of addicts. Read more.
Will Donald Trump let the Secretary of State do his job? Read more.
What began as an attempt at a simpler life quickly became a life-style brand. Read more.
The mogul used money from his brother and elaborate legal agreements to hide allegations of predation for decades. Read more.
Was President Trump’s richest adviser focussed on helping the country—or his own bottom line? Read more.
Rumors have swirled for years that, in the early eighties, the Alabama Senate candidate was banned from a shopping mall for bothering teen-age girls. Read more.
“I have had plenty of Harvey Weinsteins of my own over the years, enough to feel a sickening shock of recognition.” Read more.
Annabella Sciorra, Daryl Hannah, and other women explain their struggles with going public. Read more.
What the removal of Flynn as the national-security adviser reveals about Donald Trump’s White House. Read more.