This year has been a disaster politically, but through it all, our writers delivered fearless analysis and creative resilience—refusing to compromise on fundamental values of justice and humanity in the face of brazen cruelty and democratic decline. We’re honored to feature work that has “risen to the moment,” as one reader put it, at a time when it’s most urgent.

The following list gathers the twenty pieces our readers turned to the most, beginning with the most widely shared. Collectively, these essays, forums, and reviews map out the present crisis, illuminate how we got here, remind us of the human stakes, and envision a way forward.

—The Editors