Only Slate Plus members can gift Slate stories. Become a member to share 10 free articles a month. The bird cage has long been an object that transcends its original function, a metaphor for writers, ...

Here at the Strategist, we like to think of ourselves as crazy (in the good way) about the stuff we buy, but as much as we’d like to, we can’t try everything. Which is why we have People’s Choice in ...