The Great Read: ‘Survivor’ Is America
It’s our greatest game and our truest mirror. And in its tiki-torch-festooned way, it’s captured our society as an ever-changing collection of tribes.
The New York Times
The Great Read

February 23, 2026, 2:01 p.m. Eastern time

On weekdays and Sundays, we recommend one piece of exceptional writing from The Times — a narrative or essay that takes you someplace you might not expect to go.

A collage of images from “Survivor”

Photo Illustration by The New York Times/The New York Times. Bill Inoshita, Monty Brinton, Jeffrey Neira; CBS

Critic’s Notebook

‘Survivor’ Is America

It’s our greatest game and our truest mirror. And in its tiki-torch-festooned way, it’s captured our society as an ever-changing collection of tribes.

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