The 2020s in 10 New York Times Articles
This post features 10 landmark New York Times articles that, together, help capture the turning points, crises, and cultural battles of the 2020s in the United States. From the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests to AI, climate change, and student loan debates, these articles offer a cross-section of history as it happened.
You can read each one for free via the links provided — I’ll update these monthly using my NYT gift article quota.
🦠 COVID-19 Pandemic
📎A Global Look at the COVID-19 Pandemic
A powerful visual retrospective that captures the human cost, resilience, and upheaval of the COVID-19 era around the world.
✊🏾 Black Lives Matter
📎Timeline: George Floyd Protests and the Rise of Black Lives Matter
A definitive chronology of the 2020 protests that transformed U.S. race relations, police reform discourse, and cultural expression.
🏛️ U.S. Capitol Riot
📎Video Analysis: How Trump Supporters Breached the Capitol
A visual breakdown of the events of January 6th, 2021 — including tactical analysis of the crowd’s movements and law enforcement responses.
🚸 Immigration and Border Policy
📎How Immigration Became Biden's Biggest Crisis
An in-depth report on how the southern border and immigration system became defining and polarizing issues for the Biden presidency.
🗳️ Biden–Trump 2024 Debate
📎Biden's Debate Performance Raises Questions About Fitness to Serve
The pivotal moment that triggered a wave of Democratic unease, media scrutiny, and national debate over age and leadership.
⚖️ The End of Roe v. Wade
📎Where Abortion Is Now Legal or Banned After the End of Roe v. Wade
An interactive map and article tracing how U.S. abortion laws fractured after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
🤖 The Rise of Artificial Intelligence
📎Welcome to Campus. Here’s Your ChatGPT.
A ground-breaking report on how OpenAI — once accused of enabling academic dishonesty — is now partnering with major universities to embed ChatGPT into the core of student life.
🔫 Gun Violence and Mass Shootings
📎https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/14/us/gun-homicides-data.html
A detailed data visualization that reveals how gun deaths have shifted demographically and geographically across decades.
🌍 Climate Change
A sweeping article on how wildfires, floods, extreme heat, and drought are reshaping daily life, politics, and infrastructure in the U.S.
🎓 Student Loan Debt and the Supreme Court
📎The Supreme Court Ruling That Blocked Biden's Student Loan Plan
A report on the legal defeat of Biden’s student loan forgiveness effort — and the socioeconomic implications for millions of borrowers.
📌 Final Note
These articles will be refreshed with working NYT gift links each month. You can explore them directly, or scroll back soon for full commentary, summaries, and visuals. This list is just the start of a growing historical record.
If you're interested in my chess writing, check out my companion blog posts — especially my opening series on the Sicilian Najdorf.
Let me know which article you found most thought-provoking in the comments.
