The Most Popular Slate Stories of 2023

Slate’s top stories of 2023 are indicative of readers’ curiosity and the magazine’s versatility. While we’ve published our fair share of breaking news and second-day recaps, our readers gravitated toward features and magazine-y pieces that tackled issues beyond the daily news cycle. The most popular stories draw from all sections of the magazine, and many of this year’s most-read articles explored universal themes like grief, death, and health.

1. The Truth About Golden Retrievers Could Change How We Think About Dogs for Good
Are golden retrievers really dying younger? And if so, what does that mean for our complicated relationship with dogs?
By Isobel Whitcomb, Oct. 9

2. I Saw the Grim Child-Trafficking Movie That’s Filling Theaters. People Acted Like They Were at Top Gun.
Sound of Freedom wasn’t one of Hollywood’s smashes, but rather “the antithesis of movie-industry escapism.”
By Sam Adams, July 10

3. Young People Have No Idea What We Used to Do After Work. Let Me Regale You.
A nostalgic account of what it was like to hang out, work, and just exist as a twentysomething in the days before cellphones.
By Dan Kois, June 17

4. In the ’80s, We Decided Bike Helmets Make Riders Safe. Cyclists Have Paid for It Ever Since.
A deep dive into the science and history behind a modern safety obsession.
By Marion Renault, Jan. 16

5. What Happens When You Die? Unlike Most People, I Know. I Even Have Video.
Peter Jakubowicz was playing hockey when he dropped dead. After being revived, he struggled to make sense of what had happened. This is what he learned from watching the recorded evidence of his brief death.
By Peter Jakubowicz, May 21

6. I Never Understood Why Veterinarians Are at Such High Risk of Suicide. Until I Became One.
“If there’s one thing you must do flawlessly in your career, it’s killing.” A look at the mental health impacts of putting pets down.
By Andrew Bullis, Feb. 5

7. I Ate at the Italian Restaurant Where George Santos Is Often, for Some Reason, Spending Exactly $199.99
Slate writer Alexander Sammon pays a trip to the former representative’s favorite establishment, trying to understand what possessed Santos to spend so much money there.
By Alexander Sammon, Jan. 13

8. Does the Pioneer Woman Really Own All the Land from Killers of the Flower Moon? The Real Story Is Stranger.
A viral post suggested that the blogger and Food Network star now owns Osage land. That’s not the actual story.
By Rebecca Onion, Oct. 8

9. Every Day, People Call Her. She Can Tell When They Might Die.
In collaboration with This American Life, an inside look at how a safe-use hotline for drug users saves lives. The reporting follows Jessica Blanchard, an operator and education director for Never Use Alone, as she takes her calls.
By Aymann Ismail and Mary Harris, Sept. 10

10. The 40 Greatest Stand-Alone TV Episodes of All Time
What do Star Trek, Atlanta, and SpongeBob SquarePants have in common? They all have episodes that stand up entirely on their own.
By Slate Staff, Sept. 18 

It Was Late to Have a Baby. I Knew the Risks. I Still Wasn’t Ready for How Bad It Could Get.
An emergency physician chose to have a baby at 45—and it nearly killed her.
By Grace Glassman, Nov. 26

The New Black Film Canon
In 2016 Slate published the Black Film Canon. But times have changed since then—and so has the world of Black film—inspiring the need for a new guide to the best movies by Black directors.
By Aisha Harris and Dan Kois, Feb. 27 

An Ohio Site Was Just Declared One of the Most Important in Human History. Why Has It Been Ignored?
This year, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee added several new sites to its list. Among the most curious additions were the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, a group of ancient monuments in southern Ohio featuring earthen mounds and walls. Dan Kois pays a visit to the mounds to understand the site’s significance—and why it’s been ignored for so long.
By Dan Kois, Sept. 24

A 6-Year-Old Boy’s Killing Stunned America. What It Did to His Parents Is Something Else Entirely.
In October, 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi was allegedly stabbed to death by his landlord. In the first extended interview with the boy’s parents, Aymann Ismail explores the family and community’s grief, which has manifested in very different ways. The story is a portrait of how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has extended far beyond the borders of the region.
By Aymann Ismail, Dec. 6

“You Know What? I’m Not Doing This Anymore”: The Disaster in Texas Everyone Should Have Seen Coming
What abortion looks like in Texas after the abortion ban—and how it could get worse in the years to come.
By Sophie Novack, March 21

At a Blowout Party for Unsung Republican Heavyweights, the Men Were Drunk—and Anxious
A dispatch from the boozy party at the center of Republican politics.
By Alexander Sammon, May 30

She Lived Her Life Homeless in L.A. She Nearly Escaped. Her Story Shows How Everything Could Change.
Denise Lerma spent years trying to get help to escape homelessness. Her death—and her life—serves as a clarion call for a new way of thinking about and treating the experiences of people in similar situations.
By Lori Teresa Yearwood, Feb. 20