A tale of penguins and prejudice is a parable of modern America
When two male penguins hatched an egg in Central Park, they set off an enduring controversy
Once upon a time in America there lived a pair of penguins called Roy and Silo. They were just like the other penguin couples in their zoo, except that they were both boys. Together they sat on an egg until a chick popped out. Later two men wrote a story about them—igniting a controversy which, almost two decades later, is still blazing.
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This article appeared in the Christmas Specials section of the print edition under the headline “Long march of the penguins”
Christmas Specials December 23rd 2023
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From the December 23rd 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
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The truth about the passenger jet Putin’s men shot down
Investigating MH17, the crime that presaged the war in Ukraine
Meet the boffins and buccaneers drilling for hydrogen
The search is on for a clean fuel that could one day replace oil
The best sailors in the world
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Oceania’s wayfinding skills
The art of getting a vessel and its occupants from one place on a vast ocean to another