A universal school voucher program has been transformative for some families in the Grand Canyon State. But are voters wondering if it’s gone too far? Press enter or click to view image in full size Titus Eichelberger, a student on Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, attended a summer program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, AZ […]
May 2026 Edition
Welcome to Shoeleather Magazine! We publish timely longform work by Honors students at NYU Journalism.
America Has a Maternal Health Care Problem. Can New Mexico Solve It?
The state is shifting to a system of community care, one that could be a model for rural healthcare nationwide. Press enter or click to view image in full size Hannah Joy Lumen while in labor at Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Photo courtesy of Melissa Marie Lopez- Sullivan. Melissa Marie Lopez-Sullivan […]
The British Theater Industry is Becoming More American. But What Gets Left Behind?
As the United Kingdom shifts away from public arts funding, London theaters are losing critical support. Press enter or click to view image in full size “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” at the Criterion Theatre in London. Photo courtesy of @luxpyramid on Instagram. Kit Buchan and Jim Barne learned that their musical […]
Everyone is betting on Willets Point — not everyone wants in.
Citi Field and its adjacent parking lots, where Metropolitan Park will be built in the coming years. Source: Jonathan Mak In 1975, Shea Stadium was the place to be for New York City’s sports fans. Yankee Stadium was being renovated and the original Giants Stadium was still undergoing construction. It was, and still is, the […]
Will it be baristas who change the coffee industry?
Dark Green coffee trees planted along the hillside of Hacienda Illuminada in Puerto Rico. Source: Author The sign on the Starbucks in Seattle’s Pike Place market bears the original brown logo of a naked siren holding each side of her scaly parted tail. The siren and the name “Starbuck” — plucked from Moby Dick by two teachers […]
OnlyFans has reignited a decades-old pornography dispute. But who will win this time?
Image from X3 Expo convention overlaid with anti-porn YouTube thumbnails, anti-porn archival documents from New York Public Library, NyNy Lew’s business card, and OnlyFans logo. Graphic by Bruna Horvath. Under the hot Los Angeles sun, hoards of mostly men wrap around the corner of the iconic Hollywood Palladium venue. Some hold manila folders full of […]
The World is Obsessed with Being Thin. Again.
As the era of self-love comes to end, image-obsessed language reminiscent of early 2000s diet culture is taking its place. And it’s spreading further than ever before. Press enter or click to view image in full size Taylor Swift steps on a scale that says she’s fat in the music video for “Anti-Hero.” Photo courtesy […]
Inheriting Lost Lineage: the Aftermath of U.S. Maternity Homes
For decades, a nationwide network of institutions erased the identities of 1.5 million mothers and their children. Now, through a paper trail of medical files and documents, women like Kyla Selsor are piecing things back together. Press enter or click to view image in full size The Little Rock, Arkansas Florence Crittenton Home on March […]