The Magazine
May 6, 2024
Goings On
Goings On
Teresita Fernández’s Shifting Sculptural Landscapes
Also: Kamasi Washington, “The Outsiders” reviewed, Bang on a Can’s Long Play Festival, and more.
The Food Scene
The Return, Again, of the Power Lunch
Four Twenty Five, a luxe new dining room from the mega-restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, takes square aim at the expense-account crowd.
The Talk of the Town
Benjamin Wallace-Wells on Trump’s criminal trial; Civil War photos; Ramy Youssef’s Eid banquet; Putin and Berezovsky in “Patriots”; chess and basketball.
Comment
Donald Trump’s Sleepy, Sleazy Criminal Trial
The most striking aspect of the former President’s hush-money trial so far has been that, for the first time in a decade, Trump is struggling to command attention.
Archives Dept.
The Civil War Photographers Before Kirsten Dunst
The Still Picture Branch of the National Archives contains the glass-plate negatives of the real Civil War, including those by the photographer Timothy O’Sullivan.
Breaking Bread
Breaking a Ramadan Fast with Ramy Youssef
A gaggle of creative types—David Byrne, Cynthia Nixon, Debra Winger—gather in Bushwick for a lavish bridge-building Eid.
The Boards
How to Play Putin
Will Keen and Michael Stuhlbarg, the stars of the play “Patriots,” about the rise of the Russian President, studied how Putin plays table tennis and why his hand trembles.
Dept. of Moves
A Miami Heat Rookie Gets Checkmated
Jaime Jaquez, Jr., a chess enthusiast, arranged a meet-up with the thirteen-year-old prodigy Tanitoluwa Adewumi for some tips and a game of H-O-R-S-E.
Reporting & Essays
Profiles
Who’s Afraid of Judith Butler?
The philosopher and gender theorist has been denounced, demonized, even burned in effigy. They have a theory about that.
Our Local Correspondents
Can Turning Office Towers Into Apartments Save Downtowns?
Nathan Berman has helped rescue Manhattan’s financial district from a “doom loop” by carving attractive living spaces from hulking buildings that once housed fields of cubicles.
American Chronicles
Deb Haaland Confronts the History of the Federal Agency She Leads
As the first Native American Cabinet member, the Secretary of the Interior has made it part of her job to address the travesties of the past.
Shouts & Murmurs
Shouts & Murmurs
Horoscopes Written by My Mother
With Saturn rising, you might feel the astrological pull of stubbornness in your sixth house. Like when Bess waited thirteen hours before she got the epidural.
Fiction
Fiction
“Pulse”
He felt a pure, infantile fear. The smell of pencils. The cold metal smell of the ladder. There was a static crackle above him. And it froze his blood.
The Critics
A Critic at Large
Academic Freedom Under Fire
Politicians despise it. Administrators aren’t defending it. But it made our universities great—and we’ll miss it when it’s gone.
Books
Briefly Noted
“Knife,” “A Travel Guide to the Middle Ages,” “Neighbors and Other Stories,” and “Butter.”
Books
How Far Should We Carry the Logic of the Animal-Rights Movement?
People who think seriously about the use and abuse of nonhuman creatures often end up calling for changes that might seem indefensible—at least, at first.
Pop Music
The Tortured Poetry of Taylor Swift’s New Album
“The Tortured Poets Department” has moments of tenderness. But it suffers from being too long and too familiar.
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.
The Current Cinema
Love Means Nothing in Tennis but Everything in “Challengers”
Zendaya, Josh O’Connor, and Mike Faist sustain a three-way rally of romance in Luca Guadagnino’s almost absurdly sexy sports film.
Poems
Poems
“Laundry”
“Who can watch a child and not feel fear / like static in the background or a tinnitus you try to ignore.”
Cartoons
1/15
“Did we really have to come this early?”
Cartoon by Jeremy Nguyen
Cartoon Caption Contest
Puzzles & Games
Mail
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