The New Yorker
Why A.I. Isn’t Going to Make Art
Art is notoriously hard to define, and so are the differences between good art and bad art, Ted Chiang writes. But to create a novel or a painting, an artist makes choices that are fundamentally alien to artificial intelligence.
Today’s Mix
Kamala Harris’s First Major Interview
The Vice-President and her advisers clearly believe that being accused of flip-flopping is preferable to being cast as too radical.
The Mute Spectacle of Bianca Censori
Kanye West’s wife and muse has become known for going out in very—very—little clothing. What does her nudity reveal, and what does it hide?
The Giddy Delights of “1941”
Steven Spielberg gave free rein to his anarchic inner child in this Second World War comedy—and paid the price.
Kamala Harris’s Gamble
Four years ago, the Democrats made big promises to address racial and economic injustice. Will voters remember?
Why So Many People Are Going “No Contact” with Their Parents
A growing movement wants to destigmatize severing ties. Is it a much-needed corrective, or a worrisome change in family relations?
The Lede
A daily column on what you need to know.
How Arizona’s Maricopa County Became the Election-Conspiracy Battleground
The contest for an obscure office involved in administering elections in Arizona has stakes that could determine the Presidency.
The Election-Interference Merry-Go-Round
Claims and counterclaims of “election interference” are ubiquitous these days. What does the term actually mean?
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Steps Aside for Donald Trump
As Kennedy’s 2024 election campaign collapses, he has embraced a new role as the former President’s latest ally.
Can Kamala Harris Keep Up the Excitement Through Election Day?
At the Democratic National Convention, the sense of relief was as overwhelming as the general euphoria—but the campaign against Donald Trump has only just begun.
Real-Estate Shopping for the Apocalypse
Thirty-nine per cent of Americans believe that we’re living in end times, and there’s a boom in the market for underground hideouts, some with high-tech air-filtration systems, indoor pools, “country club ownership” models, and one with its very own worm room.
Flash Fiction
A series of very short stories for summer.
“The Third Premier”
He must be forever changed, we thought, entire fields of joy no longer his, every lovely thing tainted.
“The Books of Losing You”
I visited your room once to bring the book back but all we did was talk—you in shorts and me using your dumbbells. Was there a chance that night?
“The Door Between Us”
Again, I pressed my ear against the wall, but I heard nothing. Why couldn’t I have said something to her?
“The Penthouse”
We were lying on their bed. We were trying to be still and not ruin anything else. Soon we might even fall into sleep, our least disruptive state of being.
“Damages”
Tug too hard on a little footsy, and you wind up with a footsy in hand and a baby in tears.
Our Columnists
Does A.I. Really Encourage Cheating in Schools?
New technologies are raising suspicions about students’ work, but the controversy misses the point of what we want our kids to learn.
What Does It Really Mean to Learn?
A leading computer scientist says it’s “educability,” not intelligence, that matters most.
The New Democratic Economic Paradigm
Kamala Harris’s messages about price gouging and family welfare show a shift the Party’s intellectual center of gravity.
The N.W.S.L.’s New Labor Deal
The women’s pro soccer league’s collective-bargaining agreement has eliminated the draft. Free agency “was always the players’ power to begin with,” one executive said.
The Last Day
Since the start of the pandemic, public-school enrollment has declined by about a million children, threatening the future of American education.
True Crime
Stories from the archive.
The Unravelling of an Expert on Serial Killers
Stéphane Bourgoin became famous through his jailhouse interviews with murderers. Then an anonymous collective of true-crime fans began investigating his own story.
April 4, 2022
A Loaded Gun
Amy Bishop had been a high achiever since childhood. Her mother called her a “brilliant girl” who “just snapped.”
February 3, 2013
A Cold Case
Twenty-seven years after a friend’s murder, Andy Rosenzweig found himself revisiting the scene of the crime.
February 6, 2000
The Fourth State of Matter
The first call comes at four o’clock. There’s been some kind of disturbance in the building, a rumor that Dwight was shot; cops are running through the halls carrying rifles.
June 17, 1996
The Haditha Massacre Photos That the Military Didn’t Want the World to See
When U.S. Marines killed twenty-four people in an Iraqi town, they also recorded the aftermath of their actions. For years, the military tried to keep these photos from the public.
The Critics
MJ Lenderman Keeps It Raw
The artist discusses resisting the neutering effects of technology, his breakup with a bandmate, and his new album, “Manning Fireworks.”
Tarot, Tech, and Our Age of Magical Thinking
A fascination with mysticism has swept across the culture, cropping up in astrology apps such as Co-Star and shows like “The Curse” and “True Detective.” What does our obsession with predicting the future say about our present?
The Plight of the Political Satirist
How Ruben Bolling, of “Tom the Dancing Bug,” finds the humor in a volatile news cycle.
The State of the Netflix Standup Special
Joe Rogan’s “Burn the Boats,” Matt Rife’s “Lucid,” and Langston Kerman’s “Bad Poetry” showcase vastly different approaches to connecting with the audience.
Sabrina Carpenter’s Funny, Feisty “Short n’ Sweet”
The artist sings with wry, petulant specificity, whether she’s addressing a boyfriend, an ex-boyfriend, or that ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend.
Bonnie Slotnick, the Downtown Food-History Savant
In the forty-eight years that she’s lived in the West Village, the owner of the iconic cookbook shop has never ordered delivery.
What We’re Reading This Week
A sympathetic chronicle of historical figures vilified for their sex lives; a biography of a Black educator and activist who championed “a beach for Black people”; a geologist’s unusual memoir of life on earth; and more.
Goings On
Recommendations from our writers on what to read, eat, watch, listen to, and more.
Usher, the King of R. & B., Comes to Brooklyn
Sheldon Pearce on why it is Usher who occupies the sweaty, much contested throne. Plus, Lauren Collins on the art of deception, and more.
Fall Culture Preview
Our critics on what to look forward to this season in art, theatre, TV, music, dance, and movies.
Pacita Abad’s Charismatic Quilts
Jackson Arn on the bright vitality of the Filipina artist’s textile work, on display at the Walker Art Center. Plus: the Nigerian singer Asake, “Once Upon a Mattress,” and more.
Le Veau d’Or Makes a Thrillingly Old-Fashioned Comeback
The restaurateurs behind Frenchette and Le Rock, Helen Rosner writes, have face-lifted the city’s oldest surviving French restaurant while remaining obsessed with its history.
What Can We Learn from Menstrual Blood?
By drawing data out of tampons and pads, startups hope to shed light on poorly understood diseases.
Ideas
Democracy Needs the Loser
The observance of defeat, especially in an election, is often all that keeps a state from tipping into violence.
Was Linguistic A.I. Created by Accident?
Seven years after inventing the transformer—the “T” in ChatGPT—the researchers behind it are still grappling with its surprising power.
Our Very Strange Search for “Sea Level”
As the oceans ebb and surge, staggering ingenuity has gone into inventing the measure. What can it tell us about living on our changeable planet?
The Trouble with Friends
The wonder, and the curse, of friendship is choice. Friends drift apart. Commonalities change. The relationship is not stagnant, and growing together is not the norm.
Early Scenes
The actor recalls a childhood full of danger and adventure in the South Bronx.
In the Dark
In Season 3, Madeleine Baran investigates the killing of twenty-four civilians in Haditha, Iraq, and asks why no one was held accountable for the crime. Subscribers get early access.
Episode 1: The Green Grass
A man in Haditha, Iraq, has a request for the In the Dark team: Can you investigate how my family was killed?
Episode 2: I Have Questions
A trip to a Marine Corps archive reveals a clue about something that the U.S. military is keeping secret.
Episode 3: Sounds Like Murder
We travel around the U.S. to find the Marines who were on the ground in Haditha on the day of the killings.
Episode 4: What They Saw
Two conflicting stories about what happened that day emerge—one from the Marines involved in the killings, and another from a very different perspective.
Episode 5: Four Brothers
Was it a face-off with insurgents or the murder of four innocent brothers? We investigate what happened in the final house the Marines entered that day.
Episode 6: The Full Picture
Startling new information emerges from deep within the investigation files. Then the In the Dark team gets a big break.
Episode 7: Innocent in My Eyes
The conflicting narratives about what happened in Haditha make their way through the opaque inner workings of the military justice system, until they reach a top commander who decides which story to believe.
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