The New Yorker
Are We Doomed?
Climate change, artificial intelligence, nuclear annihilation, biological warfare—the field of existential risk is a way to reason through the dizzying, terrifying headlines. Students in a course at the University of Chicago sorted through the future that they will inherit. Rivka Galchen reports.
Above the Fold
Essential reading for today.
Speech Under the Shadow of Punishment
For years, universities have been less inclined to protect speech and quicker to sanction it. After this spring’s protests, it will be difficult to turn back.
The Spectre of Tiananmen Looms Over Hong Kong
The anniversary of the massacre coincides with verdicts in the trial of the pro-democracy activists known as the Hong Kong 47.
Trump Is Guilty, but Voters Will Be the Final Judge
The jury has convicted the former President of thirty-four felony counts in his New York hush-money trial. Now the American people will decide to what extent they care.
Jonathan Groff Rolls Merrily Back
The actor reflects on his journey in reverse: from his latest Tony nomination to his arrival in New York, waiting tables and dreaming of Broadway.
Will Mexico Decide the U.S. Election?
Top officials from the two countries are wrangling over immigration policy. What they resolve will have huge implications on both sides of the border.
The Political Scene
When the Verdict Came In, Donald Trump’s Eyes Were Wide Open
In the courtroom with the former President at the moment he became a convicted felon.
The Texas School District That Provided the Blueprint for an Attack on Public Education
When conservative activists began waging battle against diversity plans, some had a much bigger target in mind.
The Revisionist History of the Trump Trial Has Already Begun
The ex-President’s war on truth has an instant new target: his guilty verdict.
Is the Biden Campaign Running on False Hope?
Most polls show Trump leading in swing states, but the Democratic Party strategist Simon Rosenberg believes the President’s chances are better than the surveys suggest.
The Missionary in the Kitchen
I longed for purpose, meaning, the sense of being found. Then, one summer, I sort of was.
The Critics
The Sexy Mind Games of “Hit Man”
In Richard Linklater’s romantic crime comedy, an undercover operative transforms his love life by means of professional deceptions.
The New Generation of Online Culture Curators
In a digital landscape overrun by algorithms and A.I., we need human guides to help us decide what’s worth paying attention to.
Jenny Holzer Has the Last Word, at the Guggenheim
In the exhibition “Light Line,” the best work is made of phrases on an L.E.D. spiral, which add up to a single epic poem that is a gift to art history.
All the Films in Competition at Cannes, Ranked from Best to Worst
The twenty-two films that premièred in the 2024 festival’s main program offered much to savor and revile.
Chatsworth, Revisited
“Picturing Childhood” highlights the private, familial side of a storied estate.
What We’re Reading This Week
An exploration of hypochondria through the ages; a narrative history of economic growth and its paradoxical effects on our world; a memoir that braids a family story of immigration and identity with the natural history of ferns; and more.
Goings On
Vivian Maier’s Trove of Street Photography
Jackson Arn on the artistic treasure discovered in a Chicago storage locker; plus, the howling art of Käthe Kollwitz, Machinedrum’s Joshua Tree album, and more.
A Road Warrior’s Driving Lessons in “Furiosa”
Justin Chang reviews the latest addition to the “Mad Max” franchise, which plunges into the backstory of the action hero memorably introduced by Charlize Theron.
Little Island Goes Big
The floating public park will spotlight fewer and more ambitious shows this season. Plus: Inkoo Kang’s streaming picks, a new Nanni Moretti film, and more.
Ambitious, Modern Lebanese Cooking at Sawa
Helen Rosner visits a new restaurant in Park Slope that offers Levantine dishes fit for a special occasion.
My Father’s Fate, and India’s
As Narendra Modi vies for a third straight term, an appraisal of the damage wrought by his Hindu-nationalist project—and the effort by ordinary Indians to reëmbrace the country’s founding ideals.
Ideas
Are We Too Rich?
Capitalism, as it has been practiced throughout the past century, has brought with it plenty of problems. To preserve humanity—and the planet—should we give up growth?
Not Your Childhood Library
An ambitious experiment is changing the way librarians work with their homeless patrons and challenging how we share public space.
The Trials and Tribulations of the Boymom
Gender norms are the ultimate zero-sum binary, and the #boymom phenomenon could not exist without them.
Little Communes Everywhere
In a time when it can feel almost impossible to create a collective sense of anything, parents could learn something from radical movements.
The Impossibility of Translating Franz Kafka
Kafka lived through less than a quarter of the twentieth century, yet he still managed to become one of its “few truly indelible writers,” Cynthia Ozick observed, in 1999. He ranks among “those writers who have no literary progeny, who are sui generis and cannot be echoed or envied.” When he died, a hundred years ago today, at the age of forty, much of his work had never been published; the literary world owes a controversial debt to his friend Max Brod, who ignored Kafka’s wish that his manuscripts be “burned unread.”
Master of Make-Believe
Zach Horwitz appeared to be thriving in Hollywood, with a young family, movie roles alongside famous actors, and a booming investment business. Then the F.B.I. showed up.
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
In Case You Missed It
Piecing Together the Secrets of the Stasi
After the Berlin Wall fell, agents of East Germany’s secret police frantically tore apart their records. Archivists have spent the past thirty years trying to restore them.
The Talk of the Town
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