The New Yorker
The Precarious Future of Big Sur’s Highway 1
Climate change is threatening one of the country’s most famous roadways. Emily Witt reports from the California coast.
Above the Fold
Essential reading for today.
On Trump and the Elusive Fantasy of a 2024 Election Game-Changer
With a general-election debate and the ex-President’s criminal verdict looming, can anything move the immovable American electorate?
“The Idea of You” and the Notion of the Hot Mom
Anne Hathaway, as Solène, is a vision of relatability, self-sufficiency, and poise, in a film that proves the rom-com isn’t dead.
Michael Cohen’s Trump Trial Testimony
The star witness in the former President’s criminal trial is also the most aggrieved and seemingly unreliable one.
The Choice Facing Netanyahu
Amid unsuccessful ceasefire negotiations, the Biden Administration is pushing a larger diplomatic plan for the region. Israel’s government is resisting.
Did She Do It?
Lucy Letby, a British nurse, was found guilty of killing seven babies. Colleagues reportedly called her an “angel of death,” and the Prime Minister condemned her. But, in the rush to judgment, serious questions about the evidence were ignored.
The Political Scene
The Biden Administration’s Have-It-Both-Ways Report on Gaza
A new assessment, produced by the State Department, found that Israel has likely violated international law—though it doesn’t find a reason to cut off military aid.
It’s a Climate Election Now
Trump’s reported billion-dollar offer to fossil-fuel executives shows that this is the key year to save the planet.
Stormy Daniels’s American Dream
Donald Trump’s lawyers tried to portray the scrappy adult-film actress as a lying profiteer. Instead, she emerged as an intelligent, credible witness who is also very good at making money.
What the Public Is Missing in Trump’s Court Cases
Supreme Court oral arguments—and Trump's criminal trial—should be televised.
Tabula Rasa: Volume Four
On Wordle, marginalia, and other details of the writing life.
The Critics
The Madly Captivating Urban Sprawl of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis”
After a thirteen-year absence, a great American director returns with an ambitious vision of a city—and a world—in need of renewal.
New Releases Make Old Jazz Young Again
Rediscovered archival concerts—and one recent one—offer important revelations.
Nellie Bowles’s Failed Provocations
In “Morning After the Revolution,” the former Times reporter sets out to uncover a not-so-forbidden truth—that the left can be somewhat goofy.
Looking at Art with Peter Schjeldahl
Recalling a friendship with The New Yorker’s late art critic.
Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and Our Moment of Bad Reading
The once-upon-a-time defense of the poetics of rap has been ceded to the millennial mind of genius.com, taking every syllable as ripe for mundane exegesis.
“Baby Reindeer” and “Under the Bridge” Are Stranger Than Fiction
The two streaming series grapple with horrific real-life crimes—and with the complexity of the relationship between perpetrators and victims.
What We’re Reading This Week
A novel of earth-shaking attraction and the crises of middle age; a history of female pianists and the cost of pursuing art; a convivial exploration of dog-show culture; and more.
Remembering Alice Munro
The Nobel Prize-winning short-story writer has died, at the age of ninety-two.
Alice Munro Reinvigorated the Short Story
Working with the author was both a thrill and a lesson in intentionality.
Our Chekhov, Alice Munro
From 2013: Few contemporary writers are more admired, and with good reason.
“What Is Remembered”
From 2001: “What had happened in their lives surprised them, and they would joke about it.”
“The Bear Came Over the Mountain”
From 1999: “He wanted never to be away from her. She had the spark of life.”
Losing the “Right to Hug”
Hundreds of counties around the country have ended in-person jail visits, replacing them with video calls and earning a cut of the profits.
Ideas
Who Wins and Who Loses When We Share a Meme
Two new books by art-world authors explore online shareability and come to different conclusions about what creators stand to gain.
Suing People for Lying, to Save Democracy
An organization has brought defamation suits against Rudy Giuliani, Kari Lake, and others. Can they curb disinformation without impinging on freedom of speech?
Blurring the Line Between Money and Media
Hunterbrook, a hybrid media-finance company, wants to monetize investigative journalism in the public interest. Is it a visionary game changer or a cynical ploy?
The Hidden-Pregnancy Experiment
An attempt to hide personal news from online ad trackers makes clear how much surveillance we are engaged in, as both subjects and objects, and how insidious the problem is becoming.
Class Consciousness for Billionaires
We used to think the rich had a social function. What are they good for now?
The Wacky and Wonderful World of the Westminster Dog Show
A canine campaign can run to hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention all the brushing, trimming, blow-drying, and styling products. Did you think it was easy being top dog?
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
The View from Palestinian America
Six months into the war in Gaza, the quiet act of documenting life is a kind of protest against erasure.
In Case You Missed It
The Talk of the Town
When we got to her house, she came at me.Continue reading »