Magazine - The Boston Globe

2021 Feature Archive

December 26, 2021

Dave Barry looks back at the newsmakers of 2021.

Dave Barry’s 2021 Year in Review: A variant of 2020, so to speak

Jonathan Way plays with two coyotes he helped raise at the Stone Zoo in Stoneham in 2004.

This scientist bottle-fed and bayed with coyotes. Was he sidelined for loving them too much?

We’re all feeling fine. We really are. Except we’re not.

The author's father proudly displays his Santa statue for the holidays.

The plastic Santa my divorced dad always believed in

December 19, 2021 | Bostonians of the Year

Immunlologist Kizzmekia Corbett and Boston's new mayor, Michelle Wu, on the cover of the Globe Magazine's 2021 Bostonians of the Year issue.

The 2021 Bostonians of the Year

Devin McCourty and Ruben DaSilva.

Devin McCourty and Tito SantosSilva: We have the ability to end gang violence in Boston now

When my father was diagnosed with cancer, we embarked on a journey into the ‘kingdom of the sick’

December 5, 2021 | Top Places to Work

The 2021 Top Places to Work in Massachusetts

Free vacations, fully-covered commutes and 5 more of the most enviable work perks

Employees share why they love being at these Top Places to Work

Efforts to make companies more
equitable have gone “way past the
business case,” says Sara Nochur, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Alnylam
Pharmaceuticals.

Talk about diversity and inclusion is easy. These companies are putting in the real work

What Great Resignation? These employers know the secrets to retain top talent

Senior director of sales engineering at Rapid7, David Bosquet, sets up his computer at the desk he picked the night before.

With COVID policies in effect, getting into an office sure isn’t as easy as it used to be

Akamai employee Jason Main, who was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan four times during 26 years in the Navy, was able to access free counseling through work.

‘It was probably time that I started talking to somebody’: How companies make mental health a priority

There was a time when we thought work would return to normal. It won’t

Kate Booth of Vertex Pharmaceuticals watches over daughter Lila’s online art class, paid for by her employer.

How companies are helping parents and caregivers with ‘work-life integration’

Ruth Negga (left) and Tessa Thompson in "Passing," the new film based on the Nella Larsen novel.

Racial ‘passing’ is still a reality. Here’s why I embraced my complex identity

Even Robert’s Rules can’t keep order in our family. Believe me, we’ve tried

November 28, 2021 | Winter Travel

Ski more, spend less: 7 ways to save money at New England ski resorts

Two skaters at the public skating rink at Place d’Youville in Quebec City.

A road trip to Quebec City’s dazzling winter carnival

The view inside a mirrored room at SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, a skyscraper
observatory on Manhattan’s 42nd Street.

Return to New York: Broadway’s back and the city is humming

‘I fear for my life every day’: Traffic is back and Massachusetts drivers are worse than ever

HP Component for MAG - Take 2

My husband is 97, I’m 99. We have so much to be thankful for

November 21, 2021 | Holiday Style

Family photos from the writer (pictured at top in turquoise necklace), including her father (in black shirt) cooking a Thanksgiving meal.

My father didn’t hug and kiss us. But one Thanksgiving, I learned just how much he loved me

Chocolate Mint Buttercream Sandwich Cookies.

Holiday recipes: Five choose-your-own adventure desserts

Shop local gift guide: 30 ideas from New England stores and makers

Condo boards have ‘really gotten away with a lot.’ It’s time for real rules to protect owners

Annie’s “family feather” for a class project.

I take care of a glittering princess and a firefighter who golfs with plastic clubs. They brighten my life

November 14, 2021

Dan Shaughnessy presents Larry Bird with the Globe’s Jack Barry Award in April of 1984 at the Boston Garden.

Dan Shaughnessy | GLOBE MAGAZINE

The time Larry Bird hustled me out of $160, and other Celtics stories

As some towns fight to keep their Native American school mascots, Dalton reckons with change

Wildfires and climate change forced me to move across the country. I won’t be the last

The writer and her father on a trip to Amsterdam.

I thought my dad was clueless when it came to online dating. I worried he’d get hurt

November 7, 2021 | Women & Power

The 2021 Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts

Latoyia Edwards at the NBCU Boston Media Center in Needham.

Why Boston TV anchor Latoyia Edwards now wears braids on the morning news

Mariama White-Hammond at Boston City Hall.

Meet four leaders fighting for clean air, clean energy, and a healthy future for Boston

Anuradha Yadav, cofounder of the group Women of Color Entrepreneurs, or WOCE.

Four secrets to landing venture funding. Why the smart money is on women entrepreneurs

Clockwise from top left: Pam Y. Eddinger, Lynn Perry Wooten, Ellen Rosenfeld, and Dr. Reshma Kewalramani.

Eleven executives on how they build and support successful teams — even amid crisis

The ‘empathy advantage’ of great women leaders

A by-the-numbers look at the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts

Grammy-winner Terri Lyne Carrington at Berklee College of Music.

Jazz can be a powerful force for gender justice, and these musicians will take you there

Women still make less at work. Follow this advice to negotiate for the pay you deserve

Strong women can do all the things. Right?

October 31, 2021 | The Child Care Issue

Roxana Contreras with children at Gummy Bears, her small child-care program in Medford.

Parents pay a small fortune for child care. So why are so many providers struggling?

When it takes a village . . . and a day care . . . and a taekwondo instructor to raise a child

For prospective dog owners, ‘Adopt, don’t shop’ isn’t always the best advice

In the mid-1970s, the writer and her brother play piano together when he was home from college for the holidays. Both still play piano.

My big brother expanded my window on the world

October 24, 2021

The case of the Martha’s Vineyard heiress and the Florida psychic who took her for millions

Anthony Flint rides an exercise bike as part of his physical therapy during his recovery from Guillain-Barré Syndrome.

I got a rare condition after the Johnson & Johnson shot. I still think everyone needs to be vaccinated

COVID-19 aged us all big-time. But there’s something you can do about it

At home with my kids during remote school, I yelled sometimes

Your Home | Kitchens & Baths

Replacing a wall with a peninsula and removing a chimney opened the space. The art is by homeowner David Bernstein.

Finding more room in a kitchen makeover, no addition necessary

The condo has a separate dining area, so designer Christine Granfield filled the nook with a multifunction island that provides storage, prep space, and a spot for friends to gather.

Retaining exposed brick, yet opening up spaces, in a condo kitchen redesign

The Ann Sacks tumbled limestone floor tiles hold up well to Teddy, who joined the family during the renovation.

Redesigning a kitchen that’ll stand up to an English mastiff puppy

Six New England design trends in kitchens and baths for 2021

October 17, 2021 | The Medical Issue

She-Tara Smith, a Massachusetts birth and postpartum doula, with her 10-month-old daughter, Cheyenne.

Here’s what doulas do, and how they’re fighting for Black maternal health

Editorial cartoons depicting Dr. Immanuel Pfeiffer deliberately exposing himself to a smallpox patient and the aftermath, when he went to his family's farm.

A 1901 smallpox epidemic, a charismatic quack, and the rise of anti-vax propaganda in Boston

On grief, vulnerability and slowly losing a loved one to dementia

Health care routinely fails women. Blame ‘bikini medicine’

After breast cancer changed my body, I hid from my reflection

October 3, 2021 | The Education Issue

Alia Cusolito, a sophomore at Old Rochester Regional High School in Mattapoisett.

‘A very scary thing to tell someone’: The debate over gender pronouns in schools, explained

Want to address inequality? Stop waiting for schools to solve everything

New school year, same COVID anxiety. How parents can help kids (and themselves) cope

From top left, clockwise: Matt Holzer, Jeniya Herbert, Lex Buffonge, and
Barb Fecteau.

What’s it like being back to in-person classes? 10 students and educators weigh in

The writer (top, right) with her sisters in September 2010, two weeks after moving into private boarding school.

There’s a hidden burden on students with scholarships

The writer (in the blue cap) and her newfound friend are cheered on by the writer’s family.

Heat nearly defeated us, but my new friend and I crossed the Boston Marathon finish line together

September 26, 2021 | Spotlight at 50

Spotlight at 50

Fifteen Spotlight Team investigations that made a difference

Spotlight at 50

Globe editor Brian McGrory: Why the Spotlight Team matters

Gerard M. O'Neill, Thomas Winship, Ann Desantis, Stephen A. Kurkjian, and Timothy Leland celebrate after receiving word that the Spotlight Team won the 1972 Pulitzer for exposing corruption in Somerville.

Spotlight at 50

‘I look over — it was Whitey Bulger’: Spotlight journalists reveal the stories behind the stories

From left: Globe staffers react to learning they won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972; a protester outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, in 2002; a BU student was killed in a house fire in 2013; the crowd at Fenway during a Red Sox-Yankees game in 2017; and Aaron Hernandez in his Patriots playing days.

Spotlight Team's 50th Anniversary

Five decades in the Spotlight: A selected timeline of groundbreaking investigations

Anita Hill testifies at a Senate confirmation hearing for Clarence Thomas in 1991.

Anita Hill: We can’t leave it to a woke new generation to end sexual harassment

Uncle Bill with one of his 10 great-grandchildren in 2019.

How my uncle taught me the true value of a buck

September 19, 2021 | Your Home

The armchair, from A Curated World by Kay McGowan in Somerville, hails from the '60s era TWA lounge at Logan Airport.

Your Home | Smaller Spaces

Priced out of three-bedrooms in Cambridge, a designer tweaks her condo’s layout to make room for baby

The dining table (left) can be reconfigured into a console table and pushed aside to make space for the Murphy bed (right). A pull-down standing desk is concealed on the left.

Your Home | Smaller Spaces

A Murphy bed, convertible dining table, and more make a Boston condo live larger

The couple’s neighbors, father/daughter duo Brian and Theresa Orr, made the artwork above the living room mantel.

Your Home | Smaller Spaces

After 25 years in their home, a Wakefield couple decides it’s time to get the living room layout right

Your Home | Smaller Spaces

City condos are making a big comeback, but Boston-area buyers are pickier

The pandemic has changed our friendships — perhaps forever

My elderly neighbor’s garden was an Eden, but she could not abide roses or the dog next door

September 12, 2021 | Fall Travel

Nathaniel Philbrick, author of the new book "Travels with George," and his trusted companion Dora, in Nantucket.

Fall Road Trips

My wife, my dog, and I retraced George Washington’s route through New England

Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

Fall Road Trips

A nervous driver gets a taste of RV life during a 6-day tour of Utah’s parks

Marlene Baker (left) and Celeste Pinheiro at Westport Rivers Winery in Westport.

Fall Road Trips

For low-key apple picking and wine tasting, explore the Farm Coast of Mass. and R.I.

Air conditioning is adding to the climate crisis. But it doesn’t need to be

The writer and her 2-year-old grandson, who’s fascinated with her power chair.

A grandmother finds her wheelchair is no barrier to her grandson’s love for her

August 29, 2021

Kim Janey has had five months as acting mayor to show she’s the right fit for the city’s top job. Will voters agree?

Kim Janey’s journey from community organizer to acting mayor — and now Boston mayoral candidate

The author, Matthew Shifrin.

I was born blind. Here’s how I’m using tech to access the power of facial expressions

PERSPECTIVE | MAGAZINE

For restaurant workers, stress is always on the menu

An honest letter to my son as he leaves for college

August 22, 2021 | The Big Reboot

Clockwise from top left: Stefanie Corbin, Reeve Wood, Carolin Diaz, and Jackie Barber.

These New Englanders are building dream careers in a job market turned upside down

Six ways to manage job uncertainty, ambiguity, and disruption

An illustration of a group of office workers around a desk side by side with an illustration of a family at the dinner table. Goes with story about how the pandemic upended the notion of "work families."

Busting the ‘work family’ myth: Turns out your job doesn’t have to be your life

Our job-training system is stuck in the 1960s. American workers deserve better

A former career isn’t a waste of time and money. It’s learning

I tried to carry on the family tradition of playing the violin, though I didn’t have the passion or skill

August 15, 2021

Julianne Nicholson (left) and Kate Winslet in "Mare of Easttown."

Why Kate Winslet begged Julianne Nicholson to be in ‘Mare of Easttown’

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass in an early portrait.

‘My soul was set all on fire’: How Frederick Douglass found his voice in Massachusetts

Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos exits the Blue Origin’s capsule after his July trip.

Perspective | Magazine

Here’s why it’s good that Jeff Bezos and other billionaires want to explore space

The author and his son, Jesse, vacationing in New Brunswick, Canada, in July 2000.

‘Do your eyes light up when your child walks into the room?’

August 8, 2021 | Online Extras

Hey, Governor Baker! How about some vaccine incentives Bostonians really want?

The summer sun (when we see it) is rejuvenating. But exposure comes with risks.

Sunshine on my shoulders, or anywhere else, makes me nervous

August 1, 2021 | Your Home

10 things you should know before buying a swimming pool

Limited edition prints from Minted (left to right) by Cyrille Gulassa, Erin M. Wheeler, and Sue Prue add color atop the Cole & Son wallpaper in the older daughter’s bedroom. The nightstand is by local studio SawTimber Woodworks.

Three different bedroom designs for three distinctly different kids

The playhouse hides two support columns and the underside of the staircase. “Most people put a closet under the stairs, but this is way more fun,” says builder Nick Vercollone.

A family’s COVID basement remodel includes a playhouse, exercise studio, and home theater

Marshall, Anabelle (top right), and Hazel (bottom bunk) hang out in their bunk room. “We’ve seen other people our age build homes that are more like museums,” says homeowner Lisa Clark Jenks. “We want our grandkids to feel comfortable being here.”

These grandparents built a room with bunk beds just for their grandkids

The designer used scrapbooking paper for the musical instrument art above the storage crates in son Turner’s bedroom. “I’m hoping he’ll be into music, though he hasn’t picked up on it yet,” she says. She painted the plywood with rock-climbing handholds gray, which adds texture without distraction.

She’s a designer, he’s in excavation. They DIY-ed their New Hampshire home into something beautiful

Who’s a true New Englander, anyway?

Connections | Magazine

I thought my adult sons took me for granted. It took a mix-up to prove me wrong

July 25, 2021

A portrait of writer Jack Thomas at work in the Globe city room in 1979, taken by his colleague Stan Grossfeld.

I just learned I only have months to live. This is what I want to say.

Sarah Redmond’s small kelp farm in the Gulf of Maine is one thing. But giant finfish farms are quite another.

Are sprawling fish farms coming to swallow Maine?

Perspective | Magazine

Why vaccine incentives may not be such a prize after all

The writer’s first crop of taxi tomatoes.

Connections | Magazine

What could I do for my friend as her mother lay dying?

July 18, 2021

Captives, including students from St. Albans Academy, under guard by Confederate raiders.

The forgotten tale of the Confederate spies who invaded Vermont

Five ‘Jeopardy!’ questions for REAL Bostonians

Crowds gather in the Madaket section of Nantucket to watch the sunset.

Stan Grossfeld | Globe Magazine

A postcard from Nantucket

Perspective | Magazine

After 40+ years, what will it take for me to be seen as an American?

The writer at age 3, with her grandmother.

Connections | Magazine

What DNA can’t tell me about my Black ancestors

July 11, 2021

Where (and what) to eat in Newport this summer

The Poolshack at The Wayfinder Hotel.

Seven great places to grab a drink in Newport

The Thoreau I didn’t know

Perspective | Magazine

Talking to strangers, it turns out, is very good for us

The writer and her mother, Fredelle Bruser Maynard.

Connections | Magazine

The day I realized no one will ever love me like my mother did

July 4, 2021 | Recommended Reading

Among the top stories for the magazine so far in 2021 have been a piece about the origins of William Shakespeare's work (left), a story on Black joy (top right), and the annual Top Spots to Live story (bottom right).

Ten of the best Globe Magazine stories from 2021 (so far)

June 27, 2021 | Your Home

Alison created a melamine plate wall with pieces she found online at Ballard Designs; The Enchanted Home; Pomegranate; Replacements, Ltd.; and WebstaurantStore.

Small plunge pool + plastic privacy hedge = instant backyard oasis in Cohasset

Is this Rhode Island home new, or lived-in for generations?

Rhode Island newcomers embrace a little imperfection in their beach house design

The second-story deck outside the primary suite is an ideal spot for watching the sunset.

Outdoor spaces abound in this contemporary Truro house

Squam Lake attracts naturalists, canoers, and kayakers right through autumn. “It’s the quiet coffee shop to Lake Winnipesaukee’s loud nightclub,” says homeowner Sam Kachmar.

A 1970s fixer-upper on a New Hampshire lake draws new owners with its ‘family vibe’

Perspective | Magazine

Anger lessons from my kids: ‘I’m mad because I am sad! Duh!’

Rabbi Jen Gubitz and her husband, Matan BenYishay, on their wedding day last July.

Connections | Magazine

Always a rabbi, one day a bride

June 20, 2021

A child runs across a field at Bug Light Park in South Portland, Maine.

Is there something wrong with the air in South Portland, Maine?

Lucio Perez in Springfield, after his years in sanctuary.

About to be deported, Lucio Perez found sanctuary in a Mass. church. He’d live there over 3 years

Perspective | Magazine

My path to radical self-acceptance started with elastic waistband jeans

Titi, a 6-year-old rescue dog, gazes adoringly at the writer’s husband, actor Chris Cooper, in their Massachusetts home.

Connections | Magazine

A father’s soothing ways

June 13, 2021

Scenes from "Blue Hill Avenue."

‘The best Boston movie no one’s ever seen’: ‘Blue Hill Avenue’ at 20

Searching for a summer of Black joy in a season of dread

This 17-pound cat specializes in interrupting the writer’s deadlines at inopportune moments.

Perspective | Magazine

I’ve been working at home with cats. Will I ever be fit for the office again?

The writer (second from right) and his intrepid travel companions on the Inca Trail in Peru.

Connections | Magazine

It took a pandemic to remind me I’m happiest with my ‘chosen’ family

June 6, 2021

Even for a dog-obsessed country, last year was something wild. And the boom in prices, wait times, and scams may be sticking around.

Lockdown unleashed a runaway pandemic puppy economy. Is it here to stay?

How to prepare your pandemic puppy for the separation anxiety of being home alone

A bus carrying Freedom Riders was firebombed in Alabama on May 14, 1961. No passengers were seriously injured.

RFK, the Freedom Riders, and the struggle for racial justice in 1961

Perspective | Magazine

Too many Americans still can’t talk about death, even after 15 months of pandemic

The writer and her great-aunt at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire in 2016.

Connections | Magazine

Once my great-aunt descended into dementia, the only way to reach her was through a phone call

May 23, 2021

David Allen Sibley birding in Deerfield.

Why David Allen Sibley, king of the birders, became the pandemic’s unlikeliest celebrity

Athletic Brewing founder Bill Shufelt outside the Connecticut-based
company’s new brewery in San Diego.

Health-conscious millennials are driving a boom in nonalcoholic beer

Perspective | Magazine

Everything is reopening. But let’s not bring back the handshake, OK?

Maksym at age 10 and his mother at their home in Ukraine, holding up a family photo that includes his father.

Connections | Magazine

War and the loss of our fathers connected me to a little boy in Ukraine

May 16, 2021

Summer Entertainment Guide

25 outdoor events around New England from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekend

Sapir Englard came to Boston in the fall of 2019 to study at Berklee College of Music. She has been making money publishing stories through the Inkitt publishing platform.

Meet the Berklee student making $15,000 a month writing steamy werewolf fiction for a smartphone app

Jophiel Ramirez, left, distributes boxes of food outside La Colaborativa in Chelsea.

Perspective | Magazine

Why a guaranteed minimum income makes sense for the state’s hardest hit communities

Clandestine notes shared between the writer and her husband.

Connections | Magazine

The pandemic nearly broke a tradition my husband and I started in 2007

May 9, 2021

“As a law enforcement officer, you go into a variety of situations, all the way from homicide to minor disturbances. When you go in there with education, you go in there with solutions available to you,” says Anthony Roberson, the new chief in Central Falls and a former Providence police officer.

Remaking Policy | Globe Magazine

A teacher said he was destined for failure. Now he’s a police chief with a PhD

Ervin Staub, a professor emeritus at UMass Amherst, is an expert on the science of intervention

Can police be taught to stop their own violence?

Senator Elizabeth Warren visits a California day care and preschool in December 2019, not long before the start of the pandemic.

Perspective | Magazine

Elizabeth Warren on why we need universal child care now

The writer at age 3, with her mother.

Connections | Magazine

Moving back home with my mom during the pandemic helped our relationship

May 2, 2021 | Summer Travel

You’re vaccinated and ready to roam. Here’s how to make the most of your summer vacation

A teenager does a handstand as the sun sets on Cape Cod Bay in Wellfleet.

Pack patience along with your sunblock when heading to Cape Cod this summer

Massachusetts 54th Regiment reenactors in front of the Robert Gould Shaw and Massachusetts 54th Regiment Memorial in 2018.

The Black Heritage Trail: A walking tour deep into Boston history

Perspective | Magazine

COVID-19 brought health care into the 21st century. Here’s what we need from telehealth next

The garage school in the author’s backyard.

Connections | Magazine

Will our kindergartener remember pandemic ‘garage school’? I’ll never forget it

April 25, 2021 | Top Spots to Live

Top Spots to Live in Greater Boston in 2021

A gracious Victorian-era home in Dorchester, Boston’s largest neighborhood.

Top Spots to Live 2021: Boston neighborhoods

Springtime at Mass Audubon’s Drumlin Farm in Lincoln.

Top Spots to Live 2021: West of Boston

Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar in Somerville’s Davis Square.

Top Spots to Live 2021: North of Boston

A view of Buzzards Bay from Marion.

Top Spots to Live 2021: South of Boston

The Citizens Bank Opera House and Emerson Paramount are among the many performing arts spaces that have been closed because of the COVID pandemic.

City living lost some appeal for condo hunters during the pandemic

How remote working brought a real estate boom to the Cape and Berkshires

April 11, 2021 | College & Covid

What college students like me have learned during the COVID year

The writer logs into her Emerson classes from home in Chicago.

I’ve never set foot in the college that I attend 1,000 miles away

Zachary Steward had to leave school for financial reasons and is working two jobs to afford to return.

In a pandemic economy, the high costs of college are even higher

The Bunker Hill Community College food pantry.

How the pandemic worsened food insecurity among college students

Students gather, while giving one another distance, on the stairs of Emerson Hall at Harvard University.

Making friends while attending college classes on Zoom is tough

Two people share a moment near Berklee College of Music.

Dating in college is more difficult than ever. Students have found ways to keep romance alive

MassArt student Bobbi Colburn wearing a face mask she created.

‘There’s so much beautiful work that’s come out of this’: College art students in the COVID era

Clockwise from top left: Jack Clohisy, Tuft's men's track; Taylor Soule, BC women's basketball; Soren Colstrup (No. 14), Framingham State men's hockey; and Sophie Trachtenberg (No. 12), Brandeis women's basketball.

College athletes are getting a lot of practice — in disappointment

It wasn’t supposed to be this way: The unrelenting stress of being in college during a pandemic

For graduating international students, a scramble to secure work visas

It isn’t only students experiencing burnout. Professors are tired of Zoom, too

Perspective | Magazine

Dear Grads: Don’t believe the myth that work has to be a slog

Connections | Magazine

My mother is at her best in a crisis, especially when the crisis is mine

The Little River flows through the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge in Wells, Maine.

Terry Tempest Williams: We have to bridge our divides. My uncle reminded me how to begin

The writer and her grandson.

Connections | Magazine

By trains, planes, and automobiles, the grandparents are coming!

April 4, 2021

Malcolm Cawthorne at Brookline High School.

The exhaustion of being a Black teacher in a school when you’re one of too few educators of color

The costs of a secretive ‘wealth defense industry’ of shell companies, offshore tax havens, and empty luxury condos

Perspective | Magazine

It’s time for Boston to start talking about closing its exam schools

Connections | Magazine

What would it take to teach my son not to leave his boxers on the bathroom floor?

March 28, 2021 | Your Home

Illustration highlighting popular home renovation trends, including touchless faucets and backyard putting greens.

Most-wanted COVID-19 home renovations: More space, touchless faucets, and ... putting greens?

When the pandemic brought new urgency to finding private space, Danielle and Andrew Robertson transformed their almost-finished basement into an appealing office with side-by-side desks, a sitting area, and a photo studio that doubles as a workout spot.

This DIY home office project came with a bonus: Escaping the kids