Ta-Nehisi Coates
Race defined the decade.
1 New York’s most recent issue looked back at the past decade through the eyes of six people who defined it (“Who Were the 2010s?,” November 25–December 8). The cover featured Kim Kardashian West in an interview with Jonathan Van Meter about fame, her husband, and her political activism (“Reality TV Altered Reality,” November 25–December 8). On Instagram, @payshhh wrote, “I think it’s hard to argue that anyone was more ubiquitous this decade than Kim K and her family. They shaped the decade whether we’d like to admit it or not.” Journalist Olivia Petter tweeted, “This Kim K interview is as glorious as you’d expect, but the undisputed highlight is when she calls her ‘mom’ to ask what to tell the journalist before asking the journalist not to write that she did that.” Not everyone was convinced she deserved to be included: M. DeLynn Walker, speaking for many readers, wrote, “I am confused as to why you would have Kim Kardashian on the cover of your magazine as a group member equivalent to Margaret Atwood.” But to Kardashian West’s detractors, @MartineMontreal tweeted, “We don’t have to like or not like her. We created a space where she could thrive and profit. Good on her for taking advantage of that. Kim K is not at all the worst problem of the 2010s. Not even by a mile.” And @susiekantarcohen wrote, “I don’t care how she got here, she’s here. Instead of knocking her down, we should applaud the work she’s doing for criminal-justice reform. I’m pretty sure the people’s sentences she’s helped commute are thrilled with her. Give her a break already.”
2 The five others New York spoke to were author Margaret Atwood, BuzzFeed’s
Jonah Peretti, Instagram’s cofounder Kevin Systrom, author TaNehisi Coates, and activist DeRay Mckesson. Commenting on Max Read’s conversation with Peretti (“BuzzFeed Made the World a Meme,” November 25–December 8”), The Atlantic’s Bryan A. Davis wrote, “Whatever the next ten years bring to media, it’s safe to assume we’ll still be benchmarking off of BuzzFeed in some way.” Rightwing fixture Mike Cernovich called it an “unusually candid discussion of how the news really works.” Business Insider’s Graham Starr wrote, “This is a smart interview about social media, feedback loops, and how they affect the way media works. Peretti is this fascinating example of how many mid2000s openinternet, ‘internet will create democracy’ thinkers have ended up titans of consolidated industries built on exploited labor.” Of Zak CheneyRice’s interview with Coates (“Race Defined the Decade,” November 25–December 8), Paul DeBenedetto wrote, “This is a very good interview with Coates, and I think both interviewer and subject pushed back on one another in a healthy, productive way that made the conversation better.” Jalen Elrod added, “Coates is probably the writer that has influenced my thinking and my perspective on America and my own community over the past ten years. To see him recap our journey from the Age of Obama to the Age of Trump is somewhat cathartic.” Others critiqued the series for its lineup, with @AsiaChloeBrown tweeting, “A ‘conversation’ about the 2010s with people who ‘defined the decade’ and no Black women are included … No Beyoncé. No Rihanna. No Shonda Rhimes. No Ava DuVernay. No Serena Williams. No Tarana Burke. No Nikole HannahJones. No Janet Mock. No Isabel Wilkerson.”
3 New York’s Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, explicated Rudy Giuliani’s erratic texting habits (“¯\_(ツ)_/¯,” November 25–December 8). Other reporters shared their experiences of communicating with him. ABC News’ Tara Palmeri wrote, “Giuliani is a man unhandled. He once FaceTime butt-dialed me at 5 a.m.” CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski added, “He blocked my cell on both his numbers but still responds on email. His digital skills are mysterious.” And the Washington Post’s Dan Zak wrote, “I texted him last week and he read the message but didn’t respond. :(” And Charlie Warzel of the New York Times wrote that the story “speaks to my theory that right now one of the few ways to political power is to never, ever stop making content … and that means being incredibly, almost pathologically accessible.” After the story was published, Giuliani sent Nuzzi the following text:
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