The New Yorker
Not Your Childhood Library
Libraries across the country are serving as de-facto homeless shelters. Paige Williams reports on an ambitious experiment in Minneapolis that is changing the way librarians work with their homeless patrons and challenging how we share civic space.
Above the Fold
Essential reading for today.
Faux ScarJo and the Descent of the A.I. Vultures
OpenAI’s snafu over its “Her”-like voice assistant might be funny if it didn’t portend a larger crisis in the integrity of digital information.
A Road Warrior’s Driving Lessons in the Thrilling, Sprawling “Furiosa”
The latest addition to the “Mad Max” franchise plunges into the backstory of the action hero memorably introduced by Charlize Theron.
What Raisi’s Death Means for the Future of Iran
For a country facing deep challenges, and with an aging Supreme Leader, the President’s demise has spawned an existential question: Who can sustain the revolution?
The Pope Goes Prime-Time
Pope Francis’s appearance on “60 Minutes” is a first. What does it say about the papacy?
Diane Seuss Reckons with What Poetry Can Do
The poet discusses her latest collection, “Modern Poetry,” and what her writing practice has to do with grief, romance, and control.
The Political Scene
Lara Trump’s R.N.C. Sets Its Sights on—California?
In a state that could decide the fate of the House, Republican efforts may not be as futile as they seem.
The G.O.P.’s Abortion Problem at the Polls
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, Republican efforts to ban abortion have backfired with voters in many states—and they could do so again in November.
Donald Trump and Michael Cohen Deserve Each Other
At the former President’s hush-money trial, Trump’s ex-lawyer is using his old boss’s playbook to help the prosecution.
It’s a Climate Election Now
Trump’s reported billion-dollar offer to fossil-fuel executives shows that this is the key year to save the planet.
Can You Read a Book in a Quarter of an Hour?
Phone apps now offer to boil down entire books into micro-synopses. What they leave out is revealing.
The Critics
The Journalist Biography in an Age of Crisis
A memoir by Nicholas Kristof and a biography of Barbara Walters invoke halcyon days in the news business. What can we learn from their lives?
Brancusi Makes the Modern World Look Stale
In Paris, a rare retrospective shows that we still haven’t matched the sculptor’s grace, humor, and clear-eyed brilliance.
When the C.I.A. Turned Writers Into Operatives
A new show about the Cold War, “Not All Propaganda Is Art,” reveals the dark, sometimes comic ironies of trying to control the world through culture.
What Asian America Meant to Corky Lee
A new anthology by Chinatown’s omnipresent documentarian, who captured half a century of shifting identities, activism, and daily life.
Jerrod Carmichael Finds the Outer Limits of Confessional Comedy
Through an uncanny hybrid of access journalism and fourth-wall breaking, the comedian created an HBO series that was impossible to look away from.
The Anxious Love Songs of Billie Eilish
Much of the artist’s new album, “Hit Me Hard and Soft,” is about wanting a relationship but failing, in some fundamental way, to sustain closeness with another person.
What We’re Reading This Week
A professor’s consideration of liberalism and anxiety, sprinkled with pop-culture references; a portrait connecting Charles Darwin and Emily Dickinson through their enchantment with nature; a biography that merges literary obsession and detective work; and more.
Nova Scotia’s Billion-Dollar Lobster Wars
How Indigenous fishermen are defending their rights—and corporate profits—in the most lucrative fishery in North America.
Ideas
Who Wins and Who Loses When We Share a Meme
Two new books by art-world authors explore online shareability and come to different conclusions about what creators stand to gain.
Class Consciousness for Billionaires
We used to think the rich had a social function. What are they good for now?
Sportswashing and the Great Saudi Sports Grab
What does a heavyweight fight in Riyadh have to do with social change in the kingdom—and with its image abroad?
Why Liberals Struggle to Defend Liberalism
We may be months away from the greatest crisis the liberal state has known since the Civil War. How come it’s so hard to say what we’re defending?
Is “Love Is Blind” a Toxic Workplace?
Reality-TV contestants are barely paid, and the experience can feel like abuse. Former cast members of Netflix’s megahit are speaking out—and calling for solidarity.
How 3M Discovered, Then Concealed, the Dangers of Forever Chemicals
The company found its own toxic compounds in human blood—and kept selling them.
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
A Father-Daughter Swearing Lesson in “The F-Word”
In Alex Cannon’s comedic short, starring Chris Gethard, a dad struggles to give an age-appropriate explanation of the expletive.
In Case You Missed It
The Talk of the Town
Daily Cartoon
