1.
“Adrift, Broke, and Disillusioned,” February 14–27
In an excerpt from New York’s new book, Take Up Space: The Unprecedented AOC, Lisa Miller chronicled Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s meteoric rise from bartender to face of the resurgent left. Miriam Bensman of the Queens DSA called it a “terrific excerpt from what must be a terrific bio, traces AOC’s path before her run for office,” while Adam Fetcher said it was “a totally incredible story. Thank you @AOC for reminding us what public service looks like, and for leaving the door open behind you for others who might also say ‘People like me don’t run for office.’ ” Some readers thought the magazine had overstated Ocasio-Cortez’s impact: “I love AOC, but reshape? Kind of a stretch. I don’t feel like I’ve seen any real legislative accomplishments,” wrote @imaschal. When the cover was published on Instagram, it elicited unusually large applause—as well as fierce criticism of Ocasio-Cortez—and the following week on Fox News, Tucker Carlson denounced the book and denigrated the politician, who responded by calling him a “creep” and accusing him of harassment.
2.
“Extraordinary Circumstances,” February 14–27
Petra Bartosiewicz documented Kenneth Watkins’s yearslong struggle to regain custody of his son after the city’s child-welfare agency placed him into foster care at only 6 days old. J. Khadijah Abdurahman wrote, “Devastating but excellent reporting on ACS removing a child from his father with no probable cause, preventing them from reuniting for years because they insisted the affluent Black foster parents were a lottery ticket.” Writer Jessica Pishko was “glad to see reporting on the family court system in NYC. It’s inhumane, inexorably slow, and disgusting. Cases are routinely canceled or rolled to the next date.” Abigail Martin added, “I saw stories like Kenny’s so many times when I worked in child welfare.” And Carl Hamad-Lipscombe, the director of Envision Freedom Fund, tweeted, “The child ‘welfare’ system is one of the worst perpetrators of criminalization when it comes to poor, Black people, esp. women
3.
“Julia Fox Is Her Own Muse, Thank You Very Much,” February 14–27
New York’s latest edition also included the Cut’s “Spring Fashion” issue, featuring Hunter Harris’s profile of Julia Fox’s journey from downtown “It” girl to TMZ fame during her romance with the rapper formerly known as Kanye West. Douglas Greenwood wrote, “I swear @hunteryharris has been great for forever but this is my favourite thing she’s ever written.” @quidditch424 tweeted, “This is going to age poorly (no fault of the writer, just that Julia’s time in the spotlight has ended).” Some readers took issue with the accompanying portfolio, by Juergen Teller. Christina Iris wrote, “I can’t pay attention to anything other than her laying her body on that nasty snow.” A week after New York interviewed Fox, the actress posted a statement to her Instagram that she and Ye had parted ways and waved away the suggestion that she was heart-broken: “Why not see me for what I am which is a #1 hustler.”
4.
“A Vibe Shift Is Coming” (February 14–27)
Also in the “Spring Fashion” issue, Allison P. Davis’s story about the idea that the culture is on the cusp of changing, set off a flurry of jokes. A sampling of the Twitter responses: “can anyone tell me what the vibe is shifting to? is it bad or good”; “my brain is rejecting information about ‘vibe shift’ … I’m a parent now, I cannot take this on!”; “I fear a vibe shift because the only thing I fear more than my own encroaching irrelevance is having to buy new jeans”; “And I couldn’t help but wonder: would I shift the vibe? Or would the vibe shift me?”; “the only vibe shift I’m willing to acknowledge is when the battery in your vibrator dies so you shift to one that’s charged up”; “heard there’s a vibe shift coming and now im packing a go-bag in case it happens suddenly and i have to get out of the country fast. the bag has a different color shirt in it”; “the real New York vibe shift was the legalization of sports betting”; “Defense requests a continuance to prepare for the next vibe shift”; “forget about a vibe shift and worry about your gear shift. your car is rolling down a hill into traffic right now”; “A vibe shift is coming alright. A vibe toward our lord Jesus Christ our saviour”; “why are you worried about a vibe shift we’re entering world war three”; “We are like 3 days from Morgan Stanley issuing a report called like ‘A Vibe Shift at the Federal Reserve’ and ruining the whole thing, but I gotta say, really enjoying vibe shift discourse while it lasts”; “I did not understand anything in this story.”
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