The Magazine
October 30, 2017
Reporting
Our Local Correspondents
Chinatown’s Ghost Scam
When elderly immigrants fall prey to fraudsters promising protective blessings, their life savings are spirited away.
A Reporter at Large
The Family That Built an Empire of Pain
The Sackler dynasty’s ruthless marketing of painkillers has generated billions of dollars—and millions of addicts.
Onward and Upward with the Arts
The Radical Paintings of Laura Owens
Since childhood, she has grounded her life in being an artist. Along the way, she’s forged new directions for her medium.
The Critics
A Critic at Large
How Martin Luther Changed the World
Five hundred years after he started the Reformation, his ideas and his ornery personality remain as potent as ever.
The Theatre
“Springsteen on Broadway”: Legends from a Life Story
As the rock icon sang, it became clear that the show allowed him to understand not only himself but what goes into the making of a self.
On Television
Action Bronson’s Expansive Appetites
The rapper and gourmand’s TV shows, on Viceland, are a corrective to the self-seriousness of foodie culture.
Musical Events
Infrasound Opera
In her experimental music-theatre piece, Ashley Fure plays sounds too low for the audience to hear, but they register their presence all the same.
Books
Briefly Noted
“Empress of the East,” “Young Radicals,” “The Seventh Function of Language,” and “The Forensic Records Society.”
The Current Cinema
“The Killing of a Sacred Deer” and “The Square”
Yorgos Lanthimos’s brutal family drama, starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman, and Ruben Östlund’s art-world satire.
The Talk of the Town
Dept. of Collaboration
Bill Murray, on the Road with a Band
On “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the actor sang a medley from “West Side Story,” accompanied by a cellist, a pianist, and a violinist.
Moonlighting
The Do’s and Don’ts of Kleptocracy
A private investigator and a New School professor have created a game in which players must launder their ill-gotten riches without getting caught.
The Pictures
Andy Serkis’s Miniature Worlds
The actor visits an exhibit of models in Times Square. Pointing to the Empire State Building, he said, “I’ve already been on top of that.”
Comment
Harvey Weinstein and the Impunity of Powerful Men
For women speaking up about their experiences with harassment and assault, being heard is one kind of power, and being free is another.
The Pictures
Harvey Weinstein’s Cameo in a Barbie Movie
In the early aughts, Mattel launched the My Scene dolls for tweens. It’s jarring now to find the predatory producer in their animated feature film.
Shouts & Murmurs
Shouts & Murmurs
Trump I.Q. Test
Cartoons
1/12
“We want two pizzas, in small, nonconsecutive slices.”
Fiction
Fiction
The Sinking of the Houston
Poems
Goings On About Town
Dance
“The Red Shoes” Becomes a Ballet
Matthew Bourne, in his adaptation of the 1948 movie, made a real party of it.
Bar Tab
Cafe Erzulie’s Haitian Spirit of Love
On any given night at this bar, named after the vodou goddess, there might be events like Afrofuturist lecturers, lobster festivals, or live jazz.
Tables for Two
Harry & Ida’s Luncheonette: A Trendy Throwback
With its pastrami sandwiches and its floral wallpaper, it reflects a clash of contemporary and iconic.
The Theatre
Keegan-Michael Key’s Broadway Début
The comedian stars in “Meteor Shower,” a play by Steve Martin that combines marital friction and astronomical calamity.
Classical Music
“The Exterminating Angel” Skewers the Upper Class
In Thomas Adès’s acclaimed new opera, he returns to familiar territory.
The Mail
Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address, and daytime phone number, via e-mail, to themail@newyorker.com. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium. We regret that, owing to the volume of correspondence, we cannot reply to every letter.
“For the last time—because it’s relaxing and romantic!”
Cartoon by Sofia Warren
“For the last time—because it’s relaxing and romantic!”
A New Yorker Cartoon
“Let me read to you from a recently fictionalized version of the procedure . . . ”
Cartoon by P. C. Vey
Goings On Newsletter
Plus: TK
Our Local Correspondents
Donald Trump Is Being Ritually Humiliated in Court
At his criminal trial, the ex-President has to sit there while potential jurors, prosecutors, the judge, witnesses, and even his own lawyers talk about him as a defective, impossible person.
Infinite Scroll
The Dada Era of Internet Memes
How the viral TikToks of a Chinese glycine factory elucidate our increasingly chaotic digital environment.
“And I don’t think this cable-news panel of experts is helping in these counselling sessions at all.”
Cartoon by Pia Guerra and Ian Boothby
Cartoon by Sarah Kempa
A New Yorker Cartoon
The New Yorker Books & Fiction Newsletter
Deborah Treisman recommends a collection of food-related fiction. Plus: mastering the art of making a cookbook; and more from the digital Food Issue.
The Political Scene
The G.O.P.’s Election-Integrity Trap
Donald Trump has spent years arguing that mail-in voting is fraudulent and corrupt. Now the Republican National Committee, which sees mail-in voting as essential, must persuade his base to embrace it.
The New Yorker Classics Newsletter
A chef spills some trade secrets.
The New Yorker Humor Newsletter
Sign up for our humor newsletter today.
Daily Cartoon
Daily Cartoon: Wednesday, April 24th
“Objection, Your Honor! The witness is using a Trump Bible!”
“Objection, Your Honor! The witness is using a Trump Bible!”
Cartoon by Christopher Weyant
“Objection, Your Honor! The witness is using a Trump Bible!”
A New Yorker Cartoon
Under Review
The Best Books We’ve Read in 2024 So Far
Our editors and critics review notable new fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.
“Hey! If you’re here to marvel at the smallness of your existence within a glorious, vast, and unknowable universe, there’s a line!”
Cartoon by Maddie Dai
Crossword
The Crossword: Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Best Actress winner for “Poor Things”: nine letters.
