On Monday, the New Yorker revealed a new look for its website. Though not a dramatic makeover, the site is now much cleaner and features a lot more white space.

The biggest change, however, is that the site has opened its archives (2007 to present, plus selected pieces) for the summer to the general public. Beginning in the fall, the New Yorker will put up a metered paywall à la the New York Times.

In honor of the free access, here are our top five stories that you should check out while these archived gems are still free. May you never have a boring commute again.

1. "The Duke in his Domain" by Truman Capote (1957)

Truman Capote's profile on Marlon Brando paved the way for the celebrity profile as an anthropological study. Brando is such a compelling subject and Capote is such an engaging writer that the story almost feels like fiction. Filled with intimate observations, cinematic scenes and meticulous descriptions, the profile generated more comment than any New Yorker article since Hiroshima.

"It was then that I saw Brando. Sixty feet tall, with a head as huge as the greatest Buddha's, there he was, in comic-paper colors, on a sign above a theatre that advertised "The Teahouse of the August Moon." Rather Buddhalike, too, was his pose, for he was depicted in a squatting position, a serene smile on a face that glistened in the rain and the light of a street lamp. A deity, yes; but, more than that, really, just a young man sitting on a pile of candy."

2. "Within the Context of No-Context" by George W.S. Trow (1980)

Eccentric, experimental and devastating, George Trow's essay examines how television destroyed American culture and the nation's sense of history. Trow traces the changes in America's cultural landscape, providing commentary that is both poignant and eerily prescient.

"Television is the force of no-history, and it holds the archives of the history of no-history. Television is a mystery. Certain of its properties are known, though. It has a scale. The scale does not vary. The trivial is raised up to the place where this scale has its home; the powerful is lowered there. In the place where this scale has its home, childish agreements can be arrived at and enforced effectively-childish agreements, and agreements wearing the mask of childhood."

3. "Torture at Abu Ghraib" by Seymour M. Hersh (2004)

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh's piece was monumental in calling the public's attention to the human rights violations happening in Abu Ghraib. In the story Hersh infiltrates the chain of command, revealing the U.S. military's ongoing role in the brutal and systematic use of torture.

"The mistreatment at Abu Ghraib may have done little to further American intelligence, however. Willie J. Rowell, who served for thirty-six years as a C.I.D. agent, told me that the use of force or humiliation with prisoners is invariably counterproductive. ‘They'll tell you what you want to hear, truth or no truth,' " Rowell said. " ‘You can flog me until I tell you what I know you want me to say.' You don't get righteous information.' "

4. "The Marriage Cure" by Katherine Boo (2003)

Katherine Boo, best known for her critically-acclaimed book "Behind the Beautiful Forevers," is one of the best journalists reporting about poverty today. "The Marriage Cure" examines a state-sponsored experiment to teach the urban poor about marriage in the hope that wedlock will cure poverty. Boo skillfully dissects small details, giving the reader a visceral sense of place, people and environment. Case in point, the article's killer opening line:

"One July morning last year in Oklahoma City, in a public-housing project named Sooner Haven, twenty-two-year-old Kim Henderson pulled a pair of low-rider jeans over a high-rising gold lamé thong and declared herself ready for church."

5. "Letting Go: What should medicine do when it can't save your life?" by Atul Gawande

Dr. Atul Gawande examines the complexities of end-of-life care and the problems doctors struggle with when faced with letting go of a dying patient. An emotionally gripping story, Gawande suggests that medical care should move away from being primarily focused on cutting costs and prolonging people's lives. "The art of dying," a practice that focuses on helping terminally ill patients achieve the best quality of life, is an art that Gawande says we have all but lost and need to find again.

"People have concerns besides simply prolonging their lives. Surveys of patients with terminal illness find that their top priorities include, in addition to avoiding suffering, being with family, having the touch of others, being mentally aware, and not becoming a burden to others. Our system of technological medical care has utterly failed to meet these needs, and the cost of this failure is measured in far more than dollars."

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