Long Reads

City Life

Remembering the Real Victim in the Karen Read Case, My Friend John O’Keefe

My phone was still on silent when I woke the morning of January 30, 2022, to four missed calls and a text from a friend […]

City Life

A Conservative Thought Experiment on a Liberal College Campus

On the first day of class in September, Tufts University undergrads scurry into Room 104, Barnum Hall, to grab a spot in one of the […]

City Life

Why Harvard University Is Failing at Everything

It was an early moment of truth in the fledgling Harvard presidency of Claudine Gay. Called to testify in front of Congress about rising incidences […]

City Life

The George Hamilton Cold Case: How to Get Away With Murder

Jolted awake by the sound of someone frantically ringing the doorbell, the young woman begged her husband not to answer the door. It was around […]

City Life

Inside Boston’s Psychedelic Revolution

Tony wasn’t at all nervous as he drove from his home in North Andover to a retreat in New Hampshire—but his wife was. Given that […]

City Life

The North End Cannoli-Shop Shooting: “The Craziest Thing Is That He Missed”

A little before 11 p.m. on a hot summer night on Hanover Street, everything in the North End was business as usual. Old-school locals talked […]

City Life

Why Are There So Many Wild Turkeys on The Loose in Massachusetts?

Here’s one more reason the rest of the country hates us: We’re pretty. More than that, we’re pretty in every season. In the summer, we […]

Travel

The Cold Truth: Swimming Walden Pond in November

I arrived at Walden Pond State Reservation just after sunrise, recalling that a certain local resident named Thoreau once wrote, “Morning brings back the heroic […]

City Life

Why We Need Public Libraries Now More than Ever

It’s 10 o’clock on a bright summer morning, and the Boston Public Library—175 years old and more vital and necessary than ever—is up and running, […]

City Life

Inside the Bunker with Michelle Wu

Mayor Michelle Wu has a clock on her phone that keeps track of exactly one thing: the number of days she has left in office. […]

City Life

Confessions of a Twitcher

I used to do cocaine. A lot of it. As in, five out of seven nights a week. It might not be immediately apparent what […]

City Life

The Karen Read Case in Canton: The Killing That Tore a Town Apart

Snow had just started to fall as John O’Keefe and Karen Read stepped into the Waterfall Bar & Grille on Washington Street, Canton’s main drag, […]

City Life

It’s Time to Get to Know Sam Slater

The first thing I notice as I make my way through the minimalist Boston headquarters of Slater Family Holdings are the cupcakes. There are two […]

Arts & Entertainment

Meet Noah Kahan, the Voice of an Emotionally Evolved Generation

Noah Kahan thinks everyone here should be in therapy. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter is onstage at Boston Calling Music Festival, a 10-minute drive from his Watertown […]

City Life

The Heartrending Tale of Kitt the Police Dog and His Human Partner

Bill Cushing was exercising in his home gym when he got the call. It was a little before 1 p.m. on June 4, 2021, and […]