An entire magazine issue dedicated to love in February would, to most, feel cliché — and for good reason. Love is perhaps the most overused, overcommercialized and complicated human emotion, yet we still spend much of our lives searching for it wherever we can. That complexity is exactly why we chose this theme — not for the positivity love is meant to represent, but for how scarce the word has become at a time when it shouldn’t be.
In this issue, some writers gravitated toward the connections love fosters, both romantically and culturally. One writer tackled our desire for overconsumption, while another delved into the current conversation around immigration enforcement. Two writers reflected inward, sharing personal anecdotes about grief and mental health. Another writer investigated the ongoing closure of a beloved safe space, whereas our feature story explored the evolution of intimacy in film.
