THE DATA
THE LIST
Behind the Numbers
The methodology and themes that emerged in this year’s list.
LEARN MORE
The Most Engaging
Stories Archives
2016
2017
2018
Share the stories.
When meaningful
stories thrive
The Most Engaging Stories of 2019
In a year when a diversity of narratives vied for the attention of readers,
it was writing centered on humanity that ultimately defined the Most Engaging Stories of 2019.
1
2
POLITICO
‘Someone’s Gotta Tell the Freakin’ Truth’: Jerry Falwell’s Aides Break Their Silence
Brandon Ambrosino
4
5
THE WASHINGTON POST
Michael S. Rosenwald, Hannah Knowles, Robert Moore, Alexandra Hinjosa, Mary Beth Sheridan, Devlin Barrett, Mark Berman, Jennifer Jenkins, Morgan Krakow, Hannah Natanson, Lisa Rein, Julie Tate, Emanuel Stokes, Annette Nevins, and Josh Dawsey
6
7
8
9
11
12
13
THE NEW YORK TIMES
A Mysterious Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy
Matt Richtel and Andrew Jacobs
14
CNN
Jennifer Hart drove her six children to their deaths as her wife looked up how much they would suffer, a jury says
Madeline Holcombe, Augie Martin, Chris Boyette, and Dan Simon
15
16
17
18
ABC NEWS
Jeffrey Epstein, accused sex trafficker, dies by suicide: Officials
Aaron Katersky, Ella Torres, Luke Barr, James Hill, Kaitlyn Folmer, Pierre Thomas, and Kristin Shae Pisarcik
20
NPR
American With No Medical Training Ran Center For Malnourished Ugandan Kids. 105 Died.
Nurith Aizenman and Malaka Gharib
21
THE NEW YORK TIMES
‘Wow, What Is That?’ Navy Pilots Report Unexplained Flying Objects
Helene Cooper, Ralph Blumenthal, and Leslie Kean
22
23
24
26
POLITICO
‘Mother Is Not Going to Like This’: The 48 Hours That Almost Brought Down Trump
Tim Alberta
27
28
29
NPR
How Inuit Parents Teach Kids To Control Their Anger
Michaeleen Doucleff, Jane Greenhalgh, and Johan Hallberg-Campbell
30
31
32
THE WASHINGTON POST
A black principal, four white teens and the ‘senior prank’ that became a hate crime
Jessica Contrera
33
POLITICO
Trump’s personal assistant fired after comments about Ivanka, Tiffany
Daniel Lippman and Nancy Cook
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
42
43
44
45
BBC
9 dead, 27 injured in Dayton shooting; suspect’s sister among victims
Mark Osborne, Bill Hutchinson, Christina Carrega, Josh Margolin, and Aaron Katersky
46
47
48
49
CNN
Jay Croft, Darran Simon, Madeline Holcombe, Melissa Alonso, Diane Ruggiero, Amanda Watts, Artemis Moshtaghian, Scott Glover, Josh Campbell, Shimon Prokupecz, Phil Gast, Evan Perez, Chuck Johnston, Scottie Andrew, and Angela Barajas
50
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Decade in the Red: Trump Tax Figures Show Over $1 Billion in Business Losses
Russ Buettner, Susanne Craig, and Maggie Haberman
51
CNN
How a cheap, brutally efficient grocery chain is upending America’s supermarkets
Nathaniel Meyersohn, Bronte Lord, and Dina Litovsky
53
54
G1
Bárbara Muniz Vieira, Glauco Araújo, Laís Modelli, Marília Neves, and Marina Pinhoni
55
56
57
CNN
Hollie Silverman and Andrea Diaz
58
CNN
Raising an intersex child: ‘This is your body. … There’s nothing to be ashamed of’
Daniella Emanuel
60
CBC
How do the main parties compare on these issues?
Richard Grasley, Nathan Phillips, Matt Crider, Andrew Ryan, Dwight Friesen, Haydn Watters, Elizabeth Haggarty, Salimah Shivji, Peter Zimonjic, Aaron Wherry, John Paul Tasker, Kathleen Harris, Jorge Barrera, Karina Roman, Janyce McGregor, Katie Simpson, Brandie Weikle, and Sophia Harris
61
62
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Neil Armstrong’s Death, and a Stormy, Secret $6 Million Settlement
Scott Shane and Sarah Kliff
63
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Teenager Accused of Rape Deserves Leniency Because He’s From a ‘Good Family,’ Judge Says
Luis Ferré-Sadurní
64
65
67
68
BBC
Chernobyl: The end of a three-decade experiment
Victoria Gill, Jemma Cox, Lilly Huynh, and Sana Jasemi
69
70
CNN
A huge, strange-looking fish washed up on a California beach. Scientists say it’s a first
Christina Zdanowicz
71
72
EL PAÎS
El regreso del infierno mexicano: los desaparecidos que están vivos
Alejandra Guillén and Diego Petersen
73
74
75
FOX NEWS
‘Marrying you was the worst mistake of my life’ — Here’s what happened after I told my husband that
Ann Wilson and Dave Wilson
76
77
CNN
Hurricane Dorian is lashing the east coast of central Florida
Patrick Oppmann, Jason Hanna, Steve Almasy, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Christina Maxouris, Kate Bolduan, Helena de Moura, Brandon Miller, Gianluca Mezzofiore, and Andrea Diaz
78
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Notre-Dame came far closer to collapsing than people knew. This is how it was saved.
Elian Peltier, James Glanz, Mika Gröndahl, Weiyi Cai, Adam Nossiter, Liz Alderman, Christophe Petit Tesson, Dmitry Kostyukov, and Laurent Clerjeau
79
BUSINESS INSIDER
I’m a driver for Uber and Lyft — here’s exactly how much I make in one week on the job
Clarke Bowman
80
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Must Reads: Nipsey Hussle’s brother found him dying. These are his final moments
Angel Jennings
81
82
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Ryan Adams Dangled Success. Women Say They Paid a Price.
Joe Coscarelli and Melena Ryzik
83
85
THE NEW YORK TIMES
Jeffrey Epstein, Blackmail and a Lucrative ‘Hot List’
Jessica Silver-Greenberg, Emily Steel, Jacob Bernstein, and David Enrich
86
CNN
House launches Trump impeachment inquiry
Veronica Rocha, Fernando Alfonso III, Meg Wagner, Mike Hayes, and Amanda Wills
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
99
100
THE VERGE
The Trauma Floor. The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America
Casey Newton, Corey Brickley, and Jessica Chou
Behind the Numbers
The methodology and themes that emerged in this year’s list.
LEARN MORE
The Most Engaging
Stories Archives
2016
2017
2018
Share the stories.