Elamin Abdelmahmoud on the Stories We’ll Still Be Talking About in 2023

Elamin Abdelmahmoud: “Amil Niazi’s March 2022 essay went immediately viral because it put into words what many have been feeling: that the pandemic marks a shift in our relationship with measuring our lives by ambition and accomplishment. What does it look like when large swaths of the workforce suddenly stop organizing themselves around the pressure to move ahead? Niazi was ahead of the curve on this question, but it’s becoming more pertinent now.”

EA: “I’ve been thinking about Michelle Cyca’s piece for months now. It’s an investigation into what happens when an instructor tries to claim Indigenous identity and that claim is challenged, but Cyca’s writing is really clear-eyed about the stakes of these kinds of claims and how to handle them. The next time you encounter a story about someone’s Indigenous or Native identity coming under question, refer back to this piece.”

EA: “A gentle reminder that the superrich exist in a different universe than the rest of us. Sometimes that universe entails driving nice cars. Sometimes that universe means they’re so rich that they start preparing secret underground bunkers for after ‘The Event.’ You know The Event, don’t you? The impending social collapse! What’s your plan for after The Event?”

EA: “It is a horrendous reality that meaningful conversations about gun laws in America are always reactive, always in response to an awful and infuriating shooting. This piece lays out intelligently why the next battle over gun laws is not a matter of whether Americans can carry guns, but just how many places they’ll be allowed to do so.”

EA: “The downtown core of your city likely still doesn’t resemble what it looked like pre-pandemic. The foot traffic is down and a lot more people are working from home. If workers expect to be able to work from home at least some of the time, how can workplaces bring workers back? Here’s a good start.”

EA: “What is the appeal of the far right and why has it become such a dominant force globally, regardless of country? Political scientist Pippa Norris lays out the clearest argument I have ever heard for The Ezra Klein Show for how this came to be. Her explanation of a ‘silent revolution in cultural values’ will blow your mind, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it.”

EA: “It’s easy for this to slip under the radar, but 2022 has been a remarkable year for the roaring of unions. The common narrative is that unions are losing relevance as memberships have been declining for decades. The reality is that workers have been organizing at a pace not seen since the Great Depression. Anne Helen Petersen’s conversation with Kim Kelly, the author of Fight Like Hell, is great for debunking some of the tired myths about the labor movement, and it’ll be a useful guide as this wave of unionizations continues.”

EA: “This a big deal: researchers who have been in the trenches trying to solve Diabetes have arrived at a pointed conclusion—there is no drug, or device, or treatment for Diabetes powerful enough to undo the impact of poverty, unwalkable communities, poor access to food, stress, and pollution. How, if at all, legislation shifts to address this conclusion remains unclear.”

EA: “Here’s one thing you might have observed in the world: when your city goes through a heatwave, the impact isn’t distributed evenly across neighborhoods. Some suffer much more than others. In this startling feature, The Local illustrates how a heat wave exacerbates inequality and how its consequences can be deadly.”

EA: “2022 forced the retirement of the Wife Guy. Between the Try Guy and the Maroon 5 guy, we don’t know what to do with the Wife Guy. In theory, the scales have fallen from our eyes and we are done with the trope. Realistically, there are a number of Wife Guys still trying to maintain that status. When they fall, too, I will return to this piece.”

EA: “I look at my friends who have never had COVID like they’re members of a far superior species: apparently I am not the only one. Scientists are trying to determine whether the folks who have never had COVID hold the secret for a solution to the pandemic. Check back in 2023 to see if my friends have solved everything.”

EA: “Just Joni Mitchell returning to the stage of the legendary Newport festival at 78 years old to show you how it’s done. I have no plans to stop talking about this ever, so you bet we’ll be talking about this in 2023.”

Read more of Abdelmahmoud's writing and buy his bestselling book now.

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