A culture-shifting investigation of the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was among The New Yorker’s top posts of 2017. Photograph by Emily Berl / NYT via Redux

Note: This post has been updated to include Kristen Roupenian’s “Cat Person,” which has become the second most-read New Yorker article of the year since its publication, in our December 11th issue.

Determining The New Yorker’s “most popular” pieces of the year is a surprisingly fraught process. Should the measurement be page views, visitors, or some other criteria? From a financial standpoint, The New Yorker is increasingly dependent upon its loyal readers, people who come back again and again to our stories and, eventually, subscribe. As a result, when it came to selecting the most-read New Yorker stories of 2017, we decided to base our list on the total number of minutes that readers spent on an article. We felt that was the best measure of what we’re interested in—getting readers to engage deeply with what we do. The resulting list is a diverse collection. It includes a Books piece by Elizabeth Kolbert, about the human mind and the limits of reason; a pitch-perfect Daily Shouts by Colin Nissan, about a call between a 911 operator and someone who works from home; an essay by the actress Molly Ringwald on her experiences of sexual harassment in Hollywood; and, to our surprise and delight, a short story by a relatively unknown author that struck a chord with millions of readers online.

The balance, though, is composed of exclusive reporting: Ronan Farrow’s culture-shifting investigation of the movie mogul Harvey Weinstein; Ryan Lizza’s staggering phone conversation with the short-lived White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci; deeply reported profiles by Jane Mayer of Vice-President Mike Pence and Robert Mercer, the hedge-fund tycoon behind the Trump Presidency; Rachel Aviv’s investigation of guardians preying on the elderly; Evan Osnos’s exploration of the risk of nuclear war with North Korea, based on a reporting trip to Pyongyang; Patrick Radden Keefe’s investigations of the financier Carl Icahn and of the Sackler family’s involvement in the opioid crisis; Charles Bethea’s reporting on rumors that the Senate candidate Roy Moore was banned from an Alabama shopping center because of troubling interactions with teen-age girls; and much more. I’m biased, but to me it’s the kind of journalism worth coming back to repeatedly. If you’re not a loyal New Yorker reader now, we hope you become one in the new year. (To stay on top of what we do every day, try downloading our Today app and signing up for our daily newsletter.) Here’s a look back at our most engaging pieces of 2017.

1. “From Aggressive Overtures to Sexual Assault: Harvey Weinstein’s Accusers Tell Their Stories,” by Ronan Farrow

Multiple women share harrowing accounts of sexual assault and harassment by the film executive. Read more.

2. “Cat Person,” by Kristen Roupenian

“It was a terrible kiss, shockingly bad; Margot had trouble believing that a grown man could possibly be so bad at kissing.” Read more.

Photograph by Phillip Faraone / Getty

3. “Anthony Scaramucci Called Me to Unload About White House Leakers, Reince Priebus, and Steve Bannon,” by Ryan Lizza

He started by threatening to fire the entire White House communications staff. It escalated from there. Read more.

4. “Harvey Weinstein’s Army of Spies,” by Ronan Farrow

The film executive hired private investigators, including ex-Mossad agents, to track actresses and journalists. Read more.

5. “How Trump Could Get Fired,” by Evan Osnos

The Constitution offers two main paths for removing a President from office. How feasible are they? Read more.

6. “The Danger of President Pence,” by Jane Mayer

Trump’s critics yearn for his exit. But Mike Pence, the corporate right’s inside man, poses his own risks. Read more.

7. “Doomsday Prep for the Super-Rich,” by Evan Osnos

Some of the wealthiest people in America—in Silicon Valley, New York, and beyond—are getting ready for the crackup of civilization. Read more.

8. “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds,” by Elizabeth Kolbert

New discoveries about the human mind show the limitations of reason. Read more.

Illustration by Cristiana Couceiro

9. “Trump, Putin, and the New Cold War,” by Evan Osnos, David Remnick, and Joshua Yaffa

What lay behind Russia’s interference in the 2016 election—and what lies ahead? Read more.

10. “America’s Future Is Texas,” by Lawrence Wright

With right-wing zealots taking over the legislature even as the state’s demographics shift leftward, Texas has become the nation’s bellwether. Read more.

11. “The Risk of Nuclear War with North Korea,” by Evan Osnos

On the ground in Pyongyang: Could Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump goad each other into a devastating confrontation? Read more.

12. “Donald Trump’s Worst Deal,” by Adam Davidson

The President helped build a hotel in Azerbaijan that appears to be a corrupt operation engineered by oligarchs tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Read more.

13. “I Work from Home,” by Colin Nissan

“Then I got sucked into watching a YouTube video about meerkats.” Read more.

14. “How the Elderly Lose Their Rights,” by Rachel Aviv

Guardians can sell the assets and control the lives of senior citizens without their consent—and reap a profit from it. Read more.

15. “The Reclusive Hedge-Fund Tycoon Behind the Trump Presidency,” by Jane Mayer

How Robert Mercer exploited America’s populist insurgency. Read more.

Photograph by Eugene Richards for The New Yorker

16. “The Addicts Next Door,” by Margaret Talbot

West Virginia has the highest overdose death rate in the country. Locals are fighting to save their neighbors—and their towns—from destruction. Read more.

17. “The Family That Built an Empire of Pain,” by Patrick Radden Keefe

The Sackler dynasty’s ruthless marketing of painkillers has generated billions of dollars—and millions of addicts. Read more.

18. “Rex Tillerson at the Breaking Point,” by Dexter Filkins

Will Donald Trump let the Secretary of State do his job? Read more.

19. “#Vanlife, the Bohemian Social-Media Movement,” by Rachel Monroe

What began as an attempt at a simpler life quickly became a life-style brand. Read more.

20. “Harvey Weinstein’s Secret Settlements,” by Ronan Farrow

The mogul used money from his brother and elaborate legal agreements to hide allegations of predation for decades. Read more.

21. “Carl Icahn’s Failed Raid on Washington,” by Patrick Radden Keefe

Was President Trump’s richest adviser focussed on helping the country—or his own bottom line? Read more.

22. “Locals Were Troubled by Roy Moore’s Interactions with Teen Girls at the Gadsden Mall,” by Charles Bethea

Rumors have swirled for years that, in the early eighties, the Alabama Senate candidate was banned from a shopping mall for bothering teen-age girls. Read more.

23. “All the Other Harvey Weinsteins,” by Molly Ringwald

“I have had plenty of Harvey Weinsteins of my own over the years, enough to feel a sickening shock of recognition.” Read more.

24. “Weighing the Costs of Speaking Out About Harvey Weinstein,” by Ronan Farrow

Annabella Sciorra, Daryl Hannah, and other women explain their struggles with going public. Read more.

25. “Michael Flynn, General Chaos,” by Nicholas Schmidle

What the removal of Flynn as the national-security adviser reveals about Donald Trump’s White House. Read more.