The New Yorker
Out of Office
Barack Obama remains one of the most popular politicians in the country. What are his obligations to it? Peter Slevin reports on the former President’s role—and its limits.
Today’s Mix
Two Hundred and Fifty Years of Complicated Commemorations
Donald Trump’s aversion to admitting fault suggests that we will not likely see events that grapple with the nuanced nature of the nation’s history this July 4th.
The A.I. Industry Is Booming. When Will It Actually Make Money?
As Elon Musk sues his former OpenAI partners, A.I. companies are expanding rapidly, but profits are still scarce.
How the Supreme Court Demolished the Voting Rights Act
For two decades, the conservative Justices worked to eliminate a bulwark of the civil-rights era.
The Artist Who Made America Look Like a Promised Land
Frederic Edwin Church sold a nation on its own mythology. That was his making—and his unmaking.
America at 250
Two hundred and fifty years into the experiment we still call America, The New Yorker is both looking back at our history of hopes and upheavals and looking ahead to ask what pulls us apart and holds us together. In this special issue, you’ll find essays, reportage, rediscoveries, and art that explore the paradoxes of our nation.
The Lede
A daily column on what you need to know.
The Unlikely Rescue of Timmy, the Stranded Whale
Scientists said that an ailing humpback should be left to die in peace. A motley crew of privately funded rescuers disagreed.
Are Disney Adults the Happiest Debtors on Earth?
For the Walt Disney Company’s most loyal fans, the pursuit of magic can come with a five-figure credit-card bill.
How Daniel Kinahan’s Cocaine Empire Began to Crumble
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After living freely in Dubai for a decade, the notorious Irish drug dealer has finally been arrested, and is likely to be sent back to Dublin to stand trial.
D.C. Gets a King It Actually Wants
A flag flub, a White House construction zone, a pollinator photo op, and Trump’s love of royal cosplay all contributed to the bizarre atmosphere of Charles and Camilla’s visit.
How Putin and Zelensky View the War in Iran
The war’s ripple effects have exacerbated conflicts, economic insecurity, and regional tensions around the world, including in Ukraine.
Kash Patel’s Implausible Lawsuit Against The Atlantic
The F.B.I. director’s lawyers seem to misunderstand how the law (or logic) works.
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It’s Possible to Learn in Our Sleep. Should We?
New research suggests that people can communicate and even practice skills while dreaming.
The Critics
“Two Pianos” Turns Modern Melodrama Old-Fashioned
Arnaud Desplechin’s vigorous tale of a pianist’s return home to a mentor and an ex-lover lines up its characters’ traits like dominoes, and ignores the world they live in.
“The Devil Wears Prada 2” Gives the Decline of Magazines the Glossy Treatment
The sequel, which reunites Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt, is familiar and at times preposterous—but it’s also a savvy, shiny reflection of our era.
“Schmigadoon!” and “The Lost Boys” Are Killer Revamps
Camp has become the go-to aesthetic for Broadway musicals. These two new shows dare to be sincere.
The Furious Moral Clarity of Lucrecia Martel
In the Argentinean filmmaker’s new documentary, “Our Land,” and a recently restored masterpiece, “The Headless Woman,” an elusiveness of form becomes the most direct way to the truth.
A German Master’s Modernist Epic of Postwar Amnesia and Hypocrisy
Wolfgang Koeppen’s “trilogy of failure,” written from 1951 to 1954, is a sprawling, polyphonic portrait of a physically and morally shattered country.
Sohrab Hura’s Frozen Vision of Kashmir
In “Snow,” the photographer evokes the paralysis of a region defined at once by beauty and bloodshed.
What We’re Reading
A sweeping biography of the man who transformed Random House into both a profitable business and a cultural force; a spiky, funny novel about complicated friendship; and more.
Our Columnists
My Journey Inside the “Mind of a Serial Killer”
At a pop-up exhibition near Union Square, visitors can immerse themselves in a house-of-horrors-style environment inside a former Urban Outfitters store.
In Trump’s America, It Takes a King to Praise Democracy
Reflections on Charles’s state visit.
The Kirkification of Our Troubled Times
The culture has transitioned from memeing one man’s death to delighting in the memeing of wars in real time.
Donald Trump’s Lose-Lose Negotiations with Iran
How the President’s insistence on Tehran’s unconditional surrender made it impossible to make a deal.
Jonathan Swift’s Last Joke
The writer composed his own epitaph. Did it have a secret satirical intent?
Ideas
How “The Fast and the Furious” Tells the Story of Hollywood
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is often held up as the exemplar of the Hollywood mega-franchise. The “Fast” movies may have been just as influential.
What Will It Take to Get A.I. Out of Schools?
The tech world assumes that A.I.-aided education is necessary and inevitable. A growing number of parents, educators, and cognitive scientists say the opposite.
The Pain and Play of Divorce on Kids’ TV
A “Sesame Street” writer once said it was easier to write an episode about death than one about divorce. Where are the shows that manage to do it well?
Our Longing for Inconvenience
The modern world has made us ill-equipped for the nuisances of past technologies, even as it has fuelled nostalgia for things that might transport us back to calmer times.
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Molly Rogers’s Well-Worn Path to Costuming “The Devil Wears Prada 2”
The veteran costume designer worked for decades under her friend Patricia Field outfitting the likes of Carrie Bradshaw. Then, and just like that, she struck out on her own.
The Life and Times of an American Tween
In some ways, the world is cooked. But being a twelve-year-old still kind of eats.
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
In Case You Missed It
My given name, Jeon-Gi, with a hard “G,” was one that some of the kids in my apartment complex enjoyed deforming. Chun-ky, Chun-ky. As kids do, they were weaponizing a truth, for I was a chunky child, bordering on fat thanks to my one-a-day habit of a large Snickers bar. My mother would stock boxes of these for me as long as I ate the food she made, which I happily did. She and I were a tight pair that way.Continue reading »
