The New Yorker
The Long Ride
For Jock Sutherland, being hailed as the world’s best surfer was just one phase in an unlikely life. William Finnegan paddles out with him at some of his home breaks on Oahu.
Above the Fold
Essential reading for today.
What Israel’s Leaders Can’t—or Won’t—Say About Biden’s Ceasefire Announcement
Netanyahu’s chief rival, Benny Gantz, has issued an ultimatum for the Prime Minister to come up with an exit strategy for the war. What options are available to him?
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.
My Father’s Fate, and India’s
An appraisal of the damage wrought by Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist project—and the effort by ordinary Indians to reëmbrace the country’s founding ideals.
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.
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
Donald 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.
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.
When the Verdict Came In, Trump’s Eyes Were Wide Open
In the courtroom with the ex-President at the moment he became a convicted felon.
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.
Could Elaine May Finally Be Getting Her Due?
A new biography gives a compelling sense of a comic and cinematic genius, and also of the forces that derailed her Hollywood career.
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.
A Portrait of Japanese America, in the Shadow of the Camps
An essential new volume collects accounts of Japanese incarceration by patriotic idealists, righteous firebrands, and downtrodden cynics alike.
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.
Bruce Springsteen’s Enduring Anthems
When the rock musician was writing the songs for the album that became “Born in the U.S.A.,” his manager told him that they needed a hit. The resulting record, which turns forty today, combined political virtue and popular appeal, protest and party time. It went platinum and became Springsteen’s best-selling album. In a 2012 Profile, David Remnick describes the Boss’s storied Columbia Records audition and the expansive career that followed.
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.
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
In Case You Missed It
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.
The Talk of the Town
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