A few years ago, Michael Arthur—an illustrator whose music-video work was included in the recent New York Times series “All-Nighters”—met the musician Josh Ritter at a downtown bar. Ritter had seen Arthur’s video for his own band, Balthrop, Alabama, and the two discussed a possible collaboration. The result, débuting here, is “Galahad,” a previously unreleased song by Ritter, paired with drawings by Arthur and animation by John D. Ivy. Ritter’s original concept was to release the song as a single, with a Kenny Rogers cover as a b-side. “That notion fell by the wayside, but inspired my idea,” Arthur says. “I originally conceived of Galahad as a sort of origin story for the fellow who sits across from the Gambler in the Kenny Rogers song, which merged with the idea of Kenny Rogers as God…. Not sure what it all means, but I liked it.”
Goings On
What we’re watching, listening to, and doing this week, online, in N.Y.C., and beyond. Paid subscribers also receive book picks.
Dept. of Medicine
How to Die in Good Health
The average American celebrates just one healthy birthday after the age of sixty-five. Peter Attia argues that it doesn’t have to be this way.
By Dhruv Khullar
Infinite Scroll
The Internet’s New Favorite Philosopher
Byung-Chul Han, in treatises such as “The Burnout Society” and his latest, “The Crisis of Narration,” diagnoses the frenetic aimlessness of the digital age.
By Kyle Chayka
Daily Comment
The Supreme Court Asks What Enron Has to Do with January 6th—and Trump
The former President notwithstanding, the government’s position in Fischer v. United States is unsettling.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
Elements
The Highest Tree House in the Amazon
In 2023, conservationists and carpenters converged on Peru to build luxury accommodations in the rain-forest canopy.
By Allison Keeley