The DayThe Day: Friday, May 22, 2026
Iranian missiles over Fujairah, a Palestinian diplomat under pressure, Cuba goes dark, and a global Ebola emergency.
Money
Medicare Advantage vs. Medicare Supplement: The Honest Comparison
Two very different ways to cover Medicare's gaps. One is cheap until it isn't. Here's what the industry doesn't say directly.
Latest from Our Writers
The Day
TravelThe Best Small Group Tours: What to Look For and What to Run From
Sylvia Chen on what separates a good small group tour from organized misery, and the operators she trusts.
ScreenThe Golden Age of Hollywood Was Real. So Was the Cost.
What made the studio era's films extraordinary, and what the machine extracted from the people inside it.
DiningWhat Is a Sommelier (And Why You've Been Pretending Not to Need One)
The person with the wine list is trying to help you. You're allowed to let them.
IdeasBooks to Read Before You Die
Someone decided which books matter. Here is how that happened, and which ones actually do.
LettersSince You Asked: The Conversation You Keep Putting Off
A reader knows she needs to talk to her aging father about the car. She also knows that once she does, something changes that doesn't change back.
HealthBest Knee Brace for Arthritis: What to Look For and What Actually Works
The knee brace aisle won't tell you which type matches your specific problem. Most people guess wrong. Here is how to get it right.
FaithBible Study for Beginners: How to Read Scripture as a Serious Adult
You don't need a reading plan or a denomination's permission. You need a pen, a question, and a willingness to start where you actually are.
MoneyMedicare Advantage vs. Medicare Supplement: The Honest Comparison
Two very different ways to cover Medicare's gaps. One is cheap until it isn't. Here's what the industry doesn't say directly.
At LargeThe Notification
I said yes to forty-one apps before I understood the nature of what I was agreeing to.
The Long TableThe Long Table: How to Make Bread at Home
Jean Hadley on Saturday bread, the recipe she has made for decades, and why the kitchen smells different when there's a loaf in the oven.
IdeasThe Seventh Vote
One vote short, for the seventh time, and what that tells you about the question Congress keeps losing.
The ShelfReading Richard Wright
The books Arthur Dandridge keeps going back to, and why Richard Wright still asks the questions that matter.
Since You AskedSince You Asked: The Person Who Takes Up All the Room
A reader describes a relationship that leaves her feeling invisible. Lorraine names what is actually happening.
GolfThe Best Golf Shoes: A Guide for Anyone Whose Feet Have Opinions
Gary Kowalski on what actually matters in a golf shoe after fifty, waterproofing, traction, and the long walk home on hole 18.
RelationshipsWhat to Say to Someone Grieving (And What Actually Helps)
Ruth Ann Pemberton on the words that land, the words that don't, and what grieving people actually need from the people who love them.
From the EditorFrom the Editor: May 2026
A note from the editor.
IdeasWhat an Hour Tells You
The Supreme Court rewrote the Voting Rights Act. One hour later, Florida had a new map.
LivingIndependent Living vs Assisted Living: The Conversation That Changes Everything
Most families don't start with the brochures. They start with a phone call that changes the weather in the room.
From the EditorFrom the Editor: The First Letter That Came Back
Two weeks in, and the thing that surprised me most was not the writing. It was the reading.
HealthWhat the Research Actually Says About Dementia Prevention
The fear is real. The supplement aisle is not the answer. Here is what the evidence actually supports.
