From a Times Insider column by Sarah Bahr headlined “How We Choose The Great Read”:

The New York Times publishes around 150 original pieces of journalism a day, on average. So in January 2020, to shine a light on some of the publication’s most absorbing, off-the-beaten-path reporting, The Times introduced The Great Read, a column that designates one article each weekday as an editor’s pick — a paragon of nuanced, sparkling writing that readers know will engage them and make them care, no matter the subject.