Alexis Nowicki

Life Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Makstorm/iStock/Getty Images Plus. Slate’s most popular stories of 2021 are a testament to readers’ boundless curiosity. The pieces on this list range from reporting on the supply chain crisis and the White House to long reads about mysterious inventions and Justin Timberlake. There are stories of global importance, and ones that are deeply personal. And a few that are both. Some made readers laugh, and many stuck in their minds long after they finished them.

Life One night in December of 2017, I saw Call Me by Your Name for the second time, alone, at the Alamo Drafthouse in a mall in Downtown Brooklyn. When I emerged from the theater after lingering for a moment to let my tears dry, I checked my phone. I had dozens of text messages—some from close friends, but many from old co-workers, classmates, and people I hadn’t spoken to in years. Most of them contained a link to a New Yorker short story.