Issue 23: Deadlines

DECEMBER 3, 2024

This month’s theme, “Deadlines,” is both a threat and an opportunity. Early December is punctuated by the reality that there are only a few weeks left in the year. But constraint is also a powerful motivator for us as journalists and editors: If we didn’t finish our work yesterday, you wouldn’t be able to read it today.

The stories in this month’s issue are about people operating under great, and often grave, constraints. In Mexico City, Madeleine Wattanberger, Eliana Gilet and Axel Hernández investigate the brutal evictions that make the city’s transformation into a paradise for digital nomads possible. In the U.K., Will Coldwell shows how age assessments based on junk science can force unaccompanied minors into early adulthood and leave lasting trauma. What’s the best philosophy for end times? Tania Roettger mingles with the enthusiasts dissecting Nietzsche's last work. Will Mawhood translates poetry from Livonian and Latgalian, two languages that have “faced an unforgiving fight for survival.” We also bring you two pieces of fiction in translation: Elena Medel’s sly takedown of office culture, “An Agreement on the Matter,” and “The Mitten,” by Andriy Sodomora, a lovely story that departs from a single piece of clothing lost in the winter snow.

— The Editors