Between the pandemic, the socially distanced presidential election, and an ongoing reckoning over racial injustice, the word “unprecedented” got a good workout in 2020. Throughout the year, New York readers sought out stories that offered a guide through all this new territory, from an explanation of a miraculous COVID vaccine to the pandemic’s effect on higher education to what happens when an ex-president faces trial. Other entries on our list of the most popular stories of 2020 — as measured by total collective minutes of audience engagement — addressed a problem that predates the coronavirus and will certainly survive it: the hurdles faced by powerful women, particularly women of color.

This is just a small sample of the work New York produces every day, both in print and across its six digital sites: Intelligencer, the Cut, Vulture, Grub Street, the Strategist, and Curbed. For more of New York’s indispensable coverage, be sure to sign up for One Great Story, our daily reading recommendation newsletter, and to subscribe for 60% off as part of our holiday special.

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