Skip to main content
The homepageVoxVox logo
The homepageVoxVox logo

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Everything old is new again

Is it possible to be truly original anymore — in your own life, in commerce, in art?

by Julia Rubin, Lavanya Ramanathan, Meredith Haggerty, and Alanna Okun
Updated
A figure holds their finger in the air. Their head is a lightbulb with the recycling symbol inside. Flowers and a bird surround the figure.
A figure holds their finger in the air. Their head is a lightbulb with the recycling symbol inside. Flowers and a bird surround the figure.
Cristina Spanò for Vox

We’re in a cultural moment where it feels like so much is being rehashed, repackaged, and resold to a captive audience. This is certainly the case in entertainment, where the Hollywood reboot machine is the driving force behind what makes it to our screens; even “original” programming is frequently built from familiar storytelling tropes and formats. The same kind of recycling — sorry, remixing — holds true in pop music.

This carries over into matters of business and politics with just as much resonance. And when it comes to lifestyle topics like dieting, parenting, and even sex, we wind up circling the drain and repackaging old trends and ideas as hot new fads, too.

What makes newness, or novelty, or originality, so important in the first place, particularly in a society that heavily prioritizes individual comfort and choices? Are we in a uniquely not-new moment, or has it actually always felt this way?

A cluster of mermaids drawn in various styles to show different iterations throughout history.
Cristina Spanò for Vox

The fallacy of new ideas, and why we want them anyway

Could we ever really tell a new story about a very old mermaid?

By Alissa Wilkinson

A cartoon drawing of two figures riding in battle tanks, facing each other, yelling at one another through bullhorns. A laptop sits in the background between them. The laptop screen reads “XXX.”
Cristina Spanò for Vox

The return of the porn wars

How today’s fight over pornography is rooted in a 40-year-old feminist schism.

By Constance Grady

Row of parents holding babies with speech bubbles above their heads. They are all offering the same advice to new parents.
Cristina Spanò for Vox

From banning hugs to gentle parenting, how are you supposed to raise kids, anyway?

The endless cycling — and recycling — of parenting advice.

By Anna North

A cartoon drawing of a large figure sitting proudly on top of several people, who are struggling to hold the weight. The scene looks like a king on a throne with two bitcoins in place of arm rests.
Cristina Spanò for Vox

Crypto: New. Fraud: Old.

When you democratize finance, you get the good and the bad.

By Emily Stewart

A figure stands on a stage, which looks like a $100 bill, surrounded by showy rays of light. Audience members below reach their hands toward the stage to show their fandom.
Cristina Spanò for Vox

The billionaire’s guide to self-help

Self-improvement is old. What’s new is the bootstrapping mythos and toxic positivity of the very rich.

By Whizy Kim

CREDITS

Editors: Meredith Haggerty, Alanna Okun, Lavanya Ramanathan, Julia Rubin
Copy editors/fact-checkers: Elizabeth Crane, Kim Eggleston, Tanya Pai, Caitlin PenzeyMoog
Additional fact-checking: Anouck Dussaud, Matt Giles
Art direction: Dion Lee, Paige Vickers
Audience: Gabriela Fernandez, Shira Tarlo, Agnes Mazur
Production/project editors: Lauren Katz, Nathan Hall

See More:

Most Popular

  1. Virginia Democrats’ irresponsible new plan to save their gerrymander
  2. Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword
  3. We’re asking the wrong question about the hantavirus outbreak
  4. Flavored vapes doomed Trump’s FDA head
  5. Trump’s China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expected

More in The Highlight

The Highlight
What twins can teach us about friendshipWhat twins can teach us about friendship
The Highlight

They grow up together, but are twins destined to share a social network?

By Allie Volpe
The Highlight
Why “neighborism” is having a momentWhy “neighborism” is having a moment
The Highlight

After decades of social isolation, people are realizing proximity is a resource.

By Sara Radin
The Highlight
What haunts America’s animal shelter workersWhat haunts America’s animal shelter workers
The Highlight

“It’s draining, heartbreaking, and maddening.”

By Kenny Torrella
The Highlight
Renewable energy just broke a 100-year-old streakRenewable energy just broke a 100-year-old streak
The Highlight

Coal’s century at the top of the world’s power mix is over.

By Bryan Walsh
The Highlight
MAHA wellness culture is coming for teens. Grown-ups aren’t ready.MAHA wellness culture is coming for teens. Grown-ups aren’t ready.
The Highlight

A new generation of influencers is changing the face of the movement.

By Anna North
The Highlight
Welcome to the May issue of The HighlightWelcome to the May issue of The Highlight
The Highlight
By Vox Staff