The Magazine
January 13, 2025
Goings On
Goings On
A Polar-Bear Plunge for the Mind, at Under the Radar
Also: the joys of marmalade, an Indian epic set to dance, the prog rock of Geordie Greep, and more.
Book Currents
Luca Guadagnino’s Fascination with the Bourgeoisie
The “Challengers” and “Queer” director discusses some books about his longtime preoccupation: the codes and customs of the rich.
The Talk of the Town
Michael Luo on the roots of xenophobia; playing Joan Baez; defending the Hudson; wig city; standing still in New York.
Comment
History’s Lessons on Anti-Immigrant Extremism
Even Donald Trump’s recent assertion that he would use executive action to abolish birthright citizenship has a historical link to the Chinese American experience.
By Michael Luo
The Pictures
How to Get the Joan Baez Sound? Sleep with Your Guitar
Playing Joan Baez to Timothée Chalamet’s Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” Monica Barbaro took up sketching and picking.
By Michael Schulman
Dept. of Ebbs and Flows
Around the World on the Hudson River
After eighty thousand miles, John Lipscomb takes his final patrol as a Riverkeeper boat captain who stumped for the fish and fought the “shit sprinklers.”
By Ben McGrath
The Boards
John Mulaney Tries Pirate Talk in an “S.N.L.” Reunion
“All In: Comedy About Love,” a collaboration between the comedian, his former writing partner Simon Rich, and the director Alex Timbers, brings lovelorn dogs, the Elephant Man, and babies to Broadway.
By Naomi Fry
Sketchpad
The Risks of Standing Still in New York
Beware! You might start an impromptu queue or get declared a landmark.
By Jenny Kroik
Reporting & Essays
Annals of Medicine
Why Is the American Diet So Deadly?
A scientist tried to discredit the theory that ultra-processed foods are killing us. Instead, he overturned his own understanding of obesity.
By Dhruv Khullar
Life and Letters
Did a Best-Selling Romantasy Novelist Steal Another Writer’s Story?
Tracy Wolff, the author of the “Crave” series, is being sued for copyright infringement. But romantasy’s reliance on standarized tropes makes proving plot theft tricky.
By Katy Waldman
A Reporter at Large
On TikTok, Every Migrant Is Living the American Dream
Many people from the Andes have settled in New York. They face tremendous difficulties, but their online posts glamorize their lives, drawing others northward.
By Jordan Salama
The Political Scene
Lauren Boebert’s Survival Instincts
The Colorado congresswoman’s inflammatory rhetoric has made her a national symbol of the Trumpist far right. She presents a different image closer to home.
By Peter Hessler
Shouts & Murmurs
Shouts & Murmurs
Expanding Our Two-Factor Authentication System
Our top priority is making sure no hacker gets into your account. So, as soon as we locate your biological grandparents and compare their DNA to yours, we will allow you to safely log in to your account.
By Talib Babb
Fiction
Sketchbook
When Picasso Was Arrested for Stealing the “Mona Lisa”
In 1911 the world’s most famous painting was stolen from the Louvre.
By Paul Rogers
Fiction
“Prophecy”
First, they would consult the family astrologer, he said, and only if the man approved of the match would Dev be allowed to go through with the proposal.
By Kanak Kapur
The Critics
Books
Yukio Mishima’s Death Cult
The writer spent his life cultivating beauty—on the page and in the mirror—only to end it with a samurai-style suicide. Both acts spoke to a long-standing obsession.
By Ian Buruma
Books
He Was a Genius for the Ages. Can We Give Him a Break?
Gottfried Leibniz made conceptual advances that lie behind our digital world. Yet for centuries he was mocked for a misstep.
By Anthony Gottlieb
The Art World
Every Mandala Tells a Secret
If the Buddhist art is meant to guide us to enlightenment, it just as often reveals the blood, beauty, and mystery of earthly life.
By Jackson Arn
The Current Cinema
Marianne Jean-Baptiste Gives a Performance for the Ages in “Hard Truths”
In his excoriatingly funny new film, the British realist Mike Leigh reunites with a key actor from his 1996 triumph, “Secrets & Lies.”
By Justin Chang
Poems
Poems
“Waiting”
“My first great love was a drunk. Her long dark hair / falling over my face. But even that is made up.”
By Bridget Lowe
Poems
“Summer Movies in Central Park”
“It is this honor, Juliusz, that is granted us: / To resurrect new forms, forged of gold.”
By Czeslaw Milosz
Cartoons
Puzzles & Games
The Mail
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