The Top 5: Democracy hypocrite, multigenerational living, sacred time, geoengineering, starter homes
Welcome to the latest edition of the Top 5 articles we’ve read this week. Each week, we read dozens of articles in the hope we find essays and reporting that speak to big ideas, trends, future looks, and incredible human stories. We hope you enjoy our list, and do always let us know if you have a suggestion or a recommendation!
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The Top 5 articles for your week:
“Keeping Sacred Time” (Comment Magazine)
Because Elizabeth Oldfield writes about how we spend our time in the modern age, a good word at the beginning of a new year.
Our age is secular because time itself has been emptied of the sacred. We have given up our custodianship and joined the headlong sprint of secular time. And in so doing we have made ourselves unnecessary.
“Why You Might Be a Democracy Hypocrite (And Why I Might Be Too)” (
)Because Lee Drutman points out how hard it can be to defend democracy:
And yet, here I am, admitting for all the world that when the stakes are high, commitment to democratic norms is… hard. Very, very hard. I’m not alone. Only about 1 in 4 of Americans consistently and uniformly support democratic norms. Support drops to 1 in 12 when we consider specific scenarios of unilateral executive action. In short: Our democracy is on spongy ground
“When the starter home becomes the forever home” (Washington Post)
Because Rachel Kurzius investigates how,
Today’s high interest rates and low housing affordability mean that all across the country, homeowners just like them — people who thought they were buying good-enough-for-now houses that they would leverage into dream homes soon enough — are having to reevaluate. Not that Franzen and others in her situation aren’t grateful to own a home, given the current market conditions. But turning a starter home into something closer to a forever home requires compromise, from sacrificing space to putting off having children.
“Can $500 Million Save This Glacier?” (NYT Magazine)
Because Jon Gertner dives into the concept of “geoengineering” and how it might help some of the world’s largest glaciers stay glaciers.
“Multigenerational Living Often Makes Sense. That Doesn’t Make It Easy” (The Walrus)
Because Kevin Chong writes lightheartedly about the growing cultural popularity (outside of certain immigrants communities and cultures) of living in multigenerational households — how it affords all kinds of benefits and perks, and also how it presents new social challenges.
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