This week's question: Some commentators have called 2020 — in which we've endured a pandemic, massive wildfires, mass protests, and an attempt to subvert American democracy — to be the worst year in living memory. If a historian were to write a book chronicling this year's many miseries, what catchy title should it have?
Click here to see the results of last week's contest: Dylan's millions
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
THE WINNER: "Doom & Zoom"
Ruth Levitsky, Quincy, Massachusetts
SECOND PLACE: "A Series of Unfortunate Events"
Mike Meredith, Seattle
THIRD PLACE: "Oh, the Places You Didn't Go!"
Ivan Kershner, Salem, South Carolina
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
"Hindsight 2020: A Less Than Perfect Vision"
Barb Bruning, Madison, Wisconsin
"The Year of the Drat"
Bill Levine, Belmont, Massachusetts
"Humanity and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Year"
Jesse Rifkin, Glastonbury, Connecticut
"2020: Tres Misérables"
Rex Jones, Steamboat Springs, Colorado
"A Year in the Strife"
Anthony C. Chiarella, Oradell, New Jersey
"Waiting to Inhale"
Troup Miller, Austin, Texas
"It Was the Worst of Times, It Was the Worst of Times"
Patty Oberhausen, Fort Wayne, Indiana
"2020: A Disgrace Odyssey"
Rebecca Burgan, Petaluma, California
"Seemed Like 100 Years of Solitude"
Ken Kellam III, Dallas
"The Year of Living Disastrously"
Gus Mickells, Lincoln, Nebraska
"Scott Atlas Shrugged"
Joe Ayella, Wayne, Pennsylvania
"Guns, Germs, and the Steal"
Laurel Rose, Pittsburgh
-
Apple bows to Trump administration pressure over ICE tracking appsIn the Spotlight It’s the latest company to capitulate to Trump’s demands
-
Can TrumpRx really lower drug prices?Today’s Big Question Pfizer’s deal with Trump sent drugmaker stocks higher
-
‘Every argument has a rational, emotional, and rhetorical component’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
