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Pocket’s Best of 2021: Culture

Britney Spears’s conservatorship nightmare, the bad art friend, and the Dolly Parton moment.

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Explore the culture and entertainment reads that Pocket users loved most this year.

Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare

How the pop star’s father and a team of lawyers seized control of her life—and have held on to it for thirteen years.

Who Is the Bad Art Friend?

Art often draws inspiration from life—but what happens when it’s your life? Inside the curious case of Dawn Dorland v. Sonya Larson.

‘We’ll Never Make That Kind of Movie Again’

An oral history of ”The Emperor’s New Groove,” a raucous Disney animated film that almost never happened.

The Dolly Moment

Nostalgic celebrity is a neutered artist. We like that.

Sex, Deceit, and Scandal: The Ugly War Over Bob Ross’ Ghost

For decades, Bob Ross has been a soothing presence in a world gone mad. But the real story behind the painter’s life, and especially his afterlife, reveals just as much madness.

Explore Pocket’s Best Articles of 2021

The year’s most intriguing ideas and indispensable advice, plus the top stories in science, technology, sports, business, long reads, and more.

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