The Week makes sense of the news by curating the best of the U.S. and international media into a succinct, lively digest.

Editor’s letter

Biden’s win official, but Trump’s still in denial

Covid vaccinations begin as pandemic intensifies

It wasn’t all bad

Hunter Biden: How to investigate the president-elect’s son

Good week/bad week

Only in America

Defunding the police

Fashion mogul busted

Streisand’s lasting vulnerability • Barbra Streisand

How Gates reconciles her wealth • Melinda Gates

Gibb’s grief for the Bee Gees • Barry Gibb

In the news

The Arab World’s most important man?

Why Biden won’t have a honeymoon

Trump cronies get scarce treatments

A terrible economic record

Viewpoint

It must be true… I read it in the tabloids

The Covid debacle in nursing homes

Keeping the migrants offshore

United Kingdom: Down to the wire on EU trade deal

How they see us: Gifting a disputed territory to Morocco

Tabloid filth invades our homes

Centralization could cause disintegration

Biden’s Cabinet: Built for comfort and diversity

Noted

2020: The worst year since…

Jill Biden: Should she call herself ‘Dr.’?

Wit & Wisdom

Pick of the week’s cartoons

Markets: Signs of a new IPO bubble

What’s new in tech • Bytes:

Innovation of the week

The mysterious light in space

Hopes for sickle-cell treatment

A herb that hides from humans

Blood test to speed vaccine trials

Why pandas love horse manure

Metazoa: Animal Life and the Birth of the Mind • Book of the week

Perestroika in Paris • Novel of the week

Sometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh

Chosen by John Patrick Shanley • Best books…

In memorable antiheroines • Also of interest…

Emmanuel Acho • Author of the week

Evermore • Taylor Swift

McCartney III • Paul McCartney

Plastic Bouquet • Kacy & Clayton and Marlon Williams

Holiday music: Nine new songs to add to your December playlist

Cyberpunk 2077: The humbling of ‘the game of the decade’

New and notable podcasts

The Week’s guide to what’s worth watching

Streaming tips

Wonder Woman 1984 • Show of the week

Babylonian stew: Tapping the wisdom of the ancients

Wine: Alternate sparklers

The community fridge: A DIY answer to exploding hunger

Gift guide: Relief from a stressful year

Homes for Wild West fans

Tesla: Selling shares to build up a war chest

Commerce: USPS falls further behind on deliveries

The bottom line

Banking: A fair access rule for miners and drillers

What the experts say

Charity of the week

Antitrust: The hammer comes down on Facebook

For Gawker, a last media exposé

Buy now, pay later, regret soon?

The former intelligence operative who elevated the spy novel • John le Carré, 1931–2020

The velvet-voiced singer who became country’s first black star • Charley Pride, 1934–2020

Freedom, masks, and death

Worst year • The Week Contest