Doubts: The clinical trials that preceded the release of the HPV vaccine Gardasil were flawed, according to an investigation by Frederik Joelving. (And our science editor Susan Matthews explains the difficult decision to run a story questioning a vaccine’s safety.)
A road we can travel: Democrats should take Doug Jones’ victory as a sign of very little, because that race was a unicorn. But they can, Christina Cauterucci writes, follow Jones’ lead when it comes to unapologetically sticking to abortion rights.
Bikes everywhere: Dock-less bike share, which has been a success in Seattle (and, before that, in China), is going to be the next big thing in American cities. Henry Grabar thinks the annoyances are worth it.
Rough time: What was it like to watch TV for a living, during this harried year when the most vital storyline was real-life politics, and every other show had to compete with us browsing the news on our phones? TV Club participants Willa Paskin, Todd VanDerWerff, June Thomas, and Tara Ariano discuss.
For fun: Alternate-universe Star Wars.
Road not taken,
Rebecca