The New Yorker
A Martini Tour of New York City
Martinis often appear in art as symbols of joy and closure. Gary Shteyngart dedicates himself to the cult of the cocktail, in a month of vermouth-rinsing and fat-washing.
Above the Fold
Essential reading for today.
The Haiti That Still Dreams
Lately, some of our family gatherings are incantations of grief. But they can also turn into storytelling sessions of a different kind.
How Gaza’s Largest Mental-Health Organization Works Through War
Dr. Yasser Abu-Jamei on providing counselling services to Palestinian children.
When a Pro-Free-Speech Dean Shuts Down a Student Protest
An online argument erupted after a video of a law professor grabbing a microphone from a student went viral. But the debate has obscured some fairly basic truths.
Love Means Nothing in Tennis but Everything in “Challengers”
Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist sustain a three-way rally of romance in Luca Guadagnino’s almost absurdly sexy sports film.
Padma Lakshmi Walks Into a Bar
Since leaving “Top Chef,” Lakshmi has found herself in a period of professional uncertainty. What better time to try standup comedy?
The Food Issue
New items on the menu throughout the week.
The Political Scene
Who’s Afraid of Judging Donald Trump? Lots of People
At the ex-President’s criminal trial, it has been challenging to find twelve people willing to sit in the jury box.
The War Games of Israel and Iran
While Netanyahu and the Islamic Republic exchange ballistic “messages,” the question of Palestine demands the moral and strategic courage of actual statesmen.
Did Mike Johnson Just Get Religion on Ukraine?
The Speaker’s sudden willingness to bring foreign-aid bills to the House floor risks his Speakership—and Trump’s wrath.
Will Biden’s Pro-Labor Feats Matter in November?
The President is winning over union leaders, but not necessarily rank-and-file voters.
No Reservations
Bots, mercenaries, and table scalpers have turned the restaurant reservation system inside out.
The Critics
The Tortured Poetry of Taylor Swift’s New Album
“The Tortured Poets Department” has moments of tenderness. But it suffers from being too long and too familiar.
“Civil War” Is a Tale of Bad News
Alex Garland’s grim political fantasy about secession and violence revolves around a war photographer but has little to say about the making and consumption of news images.
American Confinement in “We Grown Now” and “Stress Positions”
A crisis turns home into a place of constraint in two new independent features.
In Justine Kurland’s Photographs, a Mother and Son Hit the Road
Some of the portraits in “This Train” have an Edenic quality to them, as if Kurland is asking: What if my kid and I were the only two people in the world?
How Stories About Human-Robot Relationships Push Our Buttons
Two new novels, “Annie Bot” and “Loneliness & Company,” reflect anxieties about A.I. coming for our hearts as well as for our jobs.
Ralph Fiennes Sidles His Way Into Power as Macbeth
A hit British production of Shakespeare’s ever-timely tragedy arrives in D.C.
What We’re Reading This Week
A collection of piquant essays on our predilection for minimalism, a striking début novel that touches on the welfare system, a memoir that charts the investigation of a mother’s murder across a quarter century, and more.
From the Food Issue
Why We Choose Not to Eat
Can the decision to forgo food be removed from the gendered realm of weight-loss culture?
The Unexpected Hero of My Baking Repertoire
Cakes that usually come at you two-fisted—pure butter and sugar—begin to relax when you swap some of the usual white-wheat flour for buckwheat.
The Most Treasured Jar in My Pantry
There is nothing “plain” about vanilla when your extract is home-brewed.
When Babies Rule the Dinner Table
In the past two decades, American parents have started to ditch the purées and give babies more choice—and more power—at mealtime.
Jonathan Haidt Wants You to Take Away Your Kid’s Phone
The social psychologist discusses the “great rewiring” of children’s brains, why social-media companies are to blame, and how to reverse course.
Ideas
How to Die in Good Health
The average American celebrates just one healthy birthday after the age of sixty-five. Maybe it doesn’t have to be this way.
The “Epic Row” Over a New Epoch
Scientists, journalists, and artists often say that we live in the Anthropocene. Why do some leading geologists reject the term?
Get Real
Video-game engines were designed to mimic the mechanics of the real world. How perfectly can reality be simulated?
What Is Noise?
Sometimes we embrace it, sometimes we hate it—and everything depends on who is making it.
“Sparring Partner”
In J. J. Kandel’s short film, the lunch-break banter of a flirtatious pair of co-workers, played by Cecily Strong and KeiLyn Durrel Jones, gives way to uncomfortable revelations.
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The “Epic Row” Over a New Epoch
Scientists, journalists, and artists often say that we live in the Anthropocene, a new age in which humans shape the Earth. Why do some leading geologists reject the term?
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
In Case You Missed It
That they were “not young,” though described by observers as “amazingly youthful,” must have been a strong component of their attraction to each other.Continue reading »
