# October Highlight: five stories worth your time

> Vox's monthly magazine explores vegan restaurants closing, housing comebacks, and why women's healthcare costs less.
- Title: October Highlight: five stories worth your time · Vox
- Summary: Vox's monthly magazine explores vegan restaurants closing, housing comebacks, and why women's healthcare costs less. The Highlight curates five in-depth…
- Keywords: the highlight, vegan restaurants, plant-based movement, affordable housing, women's healthcare, doomscrolling, vox, news, culture, October, Highlight, five
- Source: Vox — https://vox.com/the-highlight/504076/welcome-to-the-october-issue-of-the-highlight
- Author: Vox Staff
- Published: 2026-09-28T15:05:34+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: the highlight, vegan restaurants, plant-based movement, affordable housing, women's healthcare, doomscrolling, vox, news, culture
## Vegan restaurants are closing fast
Despite more plant-based options than ever, vegan restaurants are shutting down faster than non-vegan ones. Marina Bolotnikova investigates what's lost for the vegan community and what it means for the plant-based movement's future.
## Empty bedrooms are staging a comeback
Affordable housing from the 20th century is making a return. Rachel Cohen Booth explores how America's empty bedrooms are becoming available again.
## When your friend falls in love with you
Shayla Love examines the complicated dynamics of romantic feelings developing between friends and how to navigate that situation.
## A free hobby to escape your phone
Rachel Wilkerson Miller explores a free, lightly feral hobby that can help you stop doomscrolling and disconnect from your devices.
## Why women's healthcare costs less
Anusha Subramanian investigates the insidious reason that women receive worse healthcare than men, despite often paying less for treatment.
## Key takeaway

The Highlight curates five in-depth stories on culture, housing, health, and lifestyle each month.