Walter Barker has, since the fall of 2020, had five doses of COVID-19 vaccine. He’s already starting to ponder when he might need a sixth.Barker, a 38-year-old office worker in New York, received his first two doses a year ago, as part of an AstraZeneca vaccine trial. But the shots, which haven’t been authorized by the FDA, couldn’t get him into some venues. Sick of having to test every time he went to a Yankees game, Barker nabbed a pair of Moderna injections in the spring.

You know that moment, just after you get a batch of cookies in the oven, when you take off your apron, place the mixing bowl neatly in the sink, fill it with water, and wash your hands to celebrate a job well done? Well, congratulations if you do. I’ve certainly never experienced it.As soon as I’ve formed the last reasonably sized cookie, my grubby little paws go straight for the dough that’s sticking to the side of the bowl.

When the world saw Los Angeles police officers beat Rodney King on camera in 1991, conversations about how the police engage with communities of color were destined to change. Congress heard the general public’s cries for accountability.

After a decade of steady increases, the newest Ford F-250—part of Ford’s F-Series of pickups, the No. 1 selling vehicle model in America—measures some 55 inches tall at the hood. That’s “as tall as the roof of some sedans,” a Consumer Reports writer remarked in a recent analysis examining the mega-truck trend. This height would easily render someone in a wheelchair, or a child, totally invisible at close range.

Today we’re reflecting on what The Atlantic covered in 2021. Below you’ll find stories that are both cautionary and hopeful—and that cover both the natural world and our digital one.To get a single Atlantic story curated and sent to your inbox each day, sign up for our One Story to Read Today newsletter.What Bobby McIlvaine Left BehindMcIlvaine was 26 years old when he died in the September 11 attacks. Two decades later, his loved ones are still grappling with the loss.