Top 5: Bruenig on the death penalty

Plus, a tribute to Mark Shields

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A statue of a healthcare worker honoring those on the frontlines in front of the Basilica of St. Francis in Italy. Image credit: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty.

The Top 5 articles for your week:

1. “The Man I Saw Them Kill” (NYT)

   Because this is a masterclass in simply excellent op-ed writing, and because Liz Bruenig takes on the death penalty debate through her witness of an actual execution just a week ago. It’s a disturbing and haunting essay.

2. “E Pluribus Country” (Dissent)

   Because Matthew Sitman writes a great essay on why country music connects to the working class — and to progressive intellectuals. “Country music can remind us that there’s “a dark and a troubled side of life”—not just that the world we’ve built leaves so many exploited and struggling, but that this can never be divorced from our own weakness and frailty, our cheatin’ hearts, which no amount of progress can do away with.”

3. “We’re Never Going Back to the 1950s” (The Atlantic)

   Because this essay argues how “niche partitioning” in the media has ruined the possibility of a shared political reality in America.

4. “Mark Shields and the Best of American Liberalism” (NYT)

   Because Mark Shields, political columnist and commentator, is stepping down from his role at PBS NewsHour and David Brooks has written an excellent tribute to the kind of politics Shields exemplifies.

5. “Christianity Todays’ 2021 Books Awards” (CT)

   Because we want to simply celebrate good books this year and our many friends on this list.