The Magazine
December 9, 2019
Reporting
Dept. of Innovation
Taking Virtual Reality for a Test Drive
I walked with Jesus, shopped for a sofa, and flew like a bird over New York City.
A Reporter at Large
Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi’s India
The Prime Minister’s Hindu-nationalist government has cast two hundred million Muslims as internal enemies.
Annals of Alcohol
The Intoxicating History of Gin
The current gin craze knows no bounds, but the British have been imbibing the stuff for hundreds of years, sometimes with disastrous results.
The Critics
On Television
The Incendiary Aims of HBO’s “Watchmen”
Damon Lindelof’s update to Alan Moore’s graphic novel is a bombshell, reordering the fictional universe and writing buried racial trauma back into comic-book mythology.
Books
Ralph Ellison’s Slow-Burning Art
Sixty years of the writer’s letters chart his evolution from iconoclast to icon.
Pop Music
Burial’s Search for Fleeting Moments
On his new album, the London producer seems to be conducting an exercise in listening, making a kind of dance music about dance music.
The Current Cinema
The Fanciful Flamboyance of “The Aeronauts”
The closer Tom Harper’s film gets to peak silliness, the more beautiful it becomes.
The Talk of the Town
Amy Davidson Sorkin on impeachment’s next steps; jokes and ramen reviews; cryptocurrency for kids; bespoke book picks; minimalist pharaonic juggling.
Newcomers
Who Brought the Jugglers to the Metropolitan Opera?
Sean Gandini explains how a dozen acrobats keep fifty-nine balls in the air, in rhythm with Philip Glass’s music, in “Akhnaten.”
London Postcard
Book of the Month Club, London Edition
The subscription service offered by the Mayfair bookstore Heywood Hill, where Nancy Mitford was once a clerk, relies on well-read employees, rather than on algorithms, to recommend titles.
Brave New World
Cryptocurrency 101 in the South Bronx
A public-school teacher in Morrisania, the poorest congressional district in the country, went on a crusade to help “the unbanked.”
Big Break Dept.
Ronny Chieng Defends Dangerous Comedy
Before taping his Netflix standup special, the “Daily Show” correspondent did some ramen research for his food blog and talked about how to make horrific things funny.
Comment
The Next Steps in the Impeachment Inquiry
The proceedings move to the House Judiciary Committee as Trump’s support within the Republican Party gets louder and weirder.
Shouts & Murmurs
Shouts & Murmurs
Deep State D.M.V.
Cartoons
1/11
“Nope—just the one size.”
Cartoon by Jared Nangle
Fiction
Fiction
Old Hope
Goings On About Town
Classical Music
The Vienna Boys’ Choir’s Holiday Tunes
The well-drilled ensemble, whose trebles hail from all over the world and entertain audiences on five continents, comes to Carnegie Hall for its annual holiday concert.
Tables for Two
Angel Indian’s Impressive Array of Vegetarian Standards and Showstoppers
The menu at the meat-free, mostly Punjabi restaurant in Jackson Heights highlights house-made paneer in dishes that inspire passionate allegiance.
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.
The New Yorker Classics Newsletter
A bombshell report published twenty years ago this week.
The Front Row
“The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” Is a Deceptively Plain Masterpiece
Joanna Arnow’s new film mines the comic potential of distance and framing, in an examination of degradations large and small.
“I had fun, but it was the kind of fun I don’t like.”
Cartoon by Barbara Smaller
“I had fun, but it was the kind of fun I don’t like.”
A New Yorker Cartoon
“Would you like free or expensive water?”
Cartoon by Amy Kurzweil
“Would you like free or expensive water?”
A New Yorker Cartoon
“They say registering online should take ten minutes to two days, depending on my computer skills.”
Cartoon by Frank Cotham
Cartoon by Liana Finck
A New Yorker Cartoon
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The New Yorker Science & Technology Newsletter
Plus: Bill McKibben on Earth Week wins for the Biden Administration; making dinner out of dumpster fodder; and fasting for everyone.
Blitt’s Kvetchbook
Up in Arms at Columbia University
Demonstrations and counter-demonstrations on campus and beyond.
The New Yorker Radio Hour
Jerry Seinfeld on Making a Life in Comedy (and Also, Pop-Tarts)
At seventy, the comedian débuts as a movie director with “Unfrosted,” about the invention of the Pop-Tart. And, Georgia’s Brad Raffensperger on how to convince an election denier.
Our Columnists
The Supreme Court Appears Poised to Protect the Presidency—and Donald Trump
In arguments about Presidential immunity, the conservative Justices, who avoided mentioning Trump, made clear that they are less concerned with holding him accountable than with shielding former Presidents from retribution.
“Can we set the flame to medium high?”
Cartoon by Amy Hwang
“Can we set the flame to medium high?”
A New Yorker Cartoon
Daily Cartoon
Daily Cartoon: Friday, April 26th
“We’re not giving him a free pass to do whatever he wants—we’re buying him time so he can get elected and then do whatever he wants.”
“We’re not giving him a free pass to do whatever he wants—we’re buying him time so he can get elected and then do whatever he wants.”
Cartoon by Ivan Ehlers
The Theatre
“Stereophonic” and “Cabaret” Turn Up the Volume on Broadway
David Adjmi’s cult-hit play features seventies-inspired rock songs by Will Butler, while Eddie Redmayne presides over a demonic version of the Kit Kat Club.
Secret Ingredients
How to Season Your Food Like the French
I didn’t really know what black pepper was until I lived in Lyon.
