Slate

Words, words, words. If you spend a lot of time online, you’re likely to feel overwhelmed by the words scrolling down your screen. But here’s the thing: If you’re crazed by the info-glut, you need to think about being more selective about what you read, rather than retreating from the online world entirely and deciding it’s time to pull a Thoreau and isolate yourself until you’re smelly, unkempt and a woe to your family. Hence, there is Slate, a source of erudition and intelligence. Put it this way: You’ve got to love a publication with an article hyped as “Flipping the Bird: A History.” At Slate, language matters, which means you will be treated to gem-like critical essays and articles with titles like “The Red-Hot New Stars of Lesbian Romance Novels: Secret Service Agents.”
Slate delivers arts, culture, politics—yes, lots of politics—in a publication that’s one of the touchstones of web journalism. “Today’s Papers” is a must when don’t have time for the real thing (and who does?). Here’s an online magazine, served up with smarts.