The New Yorker
Our Man in Paris
As the U.S. Ambassador to France, Charles Kushner has become known for lobbing provocations onto France’s domestic scene at sensitive moments. Lauren Collins reports on the tactics of the MAGA diplomat.
Today’s Mix
The World Series No One Wanted
A matchup between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays was considered a “nightmare,” a bloodbath of small-ball hermeneutics. But the two old-school, thrifty teams have turned the Fall Classic into a showcase for what money can’t buy.
The Political Upstarts That May Decide Israel’s Election
Frustrated with the polarization of the Netanyahu era, voters look for ways to create change.
Did Substack Fix the Internet?
A new book by Hamish McKenzie, the platform’s co-founder, argues that writers today are more empowered than ever. But online newsletters form their own kind of attention economy.
The Republicans’ Remarkably Bad Midterm Campaigns
Things were going poorly even before Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign ran the most offensive ad of the year.
For Bob Iger, That’s the Way It Is
The former Ithaca weatherman became Disney’s C.E.O. Now he’s just like everyone else—retired and co-owning the Los Angeles Lakers with Josh Kushner, by way of Karlie Kloss.
The State Officials Defending the Midterms from the President
Donald Trump has tried to purge voter rolls nationwide. Deidre Henderson, the Republican lieutenant governor of Utah, is among the chief election officers standing in his way.
The Lede
A daily column on what you need to know.
The Great Schlep
Tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad are flying back to cast votes in what many describe as the most pivotal election in the country’s history.
Inside Meta’s Efforts to Prevent School Shootings
.jpg)
Algorithmic social media, which has helped create the conditions for the spread of such violence, is reckoning with how it can be part of the solution.
How ICE Is Targeting the 2026 Midterms
In the run-up to the election, the Trump Administration is turning its immigration crackdown into a desperate hunt for voter fraud.
Can Justin J. Pearson Win in Tennessee?
Republicans eliminated the state’s only Black-majority district, in Memphis, so Pearson took a campaign about economic inequality to rural white voters.
Gender-Affirming Care for Military Men
New data suggest that a quarter of American servicemen may have low testosterone. That doesn’t mean what Pete Hegseth thinks it does.
Maria Bamford Asks for the Check
The comedian on being the subject of a Judd Apatow documentary, her passion for open-book accounting, and dating in her fifties.
A Guide to the Midterms
Read The New Yorker’s latest analysis of the issues shaping the election.
Donald Trump’s October Surprise Is a Pivot to Putin
No one thinks Russian diesel can save the Republicans, so why is the President doing it?
Has MAGA Lost Faith in Trump?
Rich Baris, a pollster supportive of the MAGA “big tent,” talks about how the President lost control of his movement, and why that spells disaster for Republicans.
Who Won the Redistricting War?
Democrats and Republicans are in a race to the bottom—and the worst consequences will extend far beyond next month’s midterms.
After the Midterms
If the coming election does result in a blue wave, Trump will be faced with the fact of his diminishment. The rest of us will be faced with the wreckage.
The Well-Funded Fight to Keep Latinos Voting Republican
%20(1).jpg)
Amid deportations and Trump’s lagging popularity, one Koch-backed group has recruited Michigan Latinos to reach more than a hundred thousand voters for Mike Rogers.
What’s at Stake in the Midterms
The election could deliver a major victory for Democrats. What would that tell us about Trump’s hold on the country—and the Party hoping to succeed him?
A Mother on Trial
Nakira Griner said that her toddler fell down the stairs. A jury convicted her of murder. What really happened that day?
The Critics
The Fragile Unions of “Possible Love”
In Lee Chang-dong’s brilliantly acted film, a community’s devastation plays out through a documentary lens—and through a tale of two very different couples.
Political Skirmishes in “Other Desert Cities” and “A Bright Room Called Day”
Revivals of plays by Jon Robin Baitz and Tony Kushner.
“Slow Horses,” Apple TV’s Best Show, Retains Its Pungent Relevance
The spy series, which follows a lowly team of pariahs in MI5, mirrors our present moment.
Hemingway’s Vendetta
In 1952, the author read a novel by a thirty-year-old Yale graduate and former bullfighter, branded him a fraud, and launched a secret war to defend his turf.
“Fatherland” Cleans Up the Rough Edges of History
In this dramatization of the novelist Thomas Mann’s 1949 return to Germany, the filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski tweaks the facts to fit his style.
The Old-School Ambition of “The Brightness”
In his sweeping new novel, Chad Harbach studies the crisis of being a college student in 2015—and of being a writer trying to redeem realist fiction.
What We’re Reading
A rigorous spiritual diary that wrestles with theology, philosophy, and the intoxicating appeal of relinquishing one’s will; a collection of poems, essays, and photographs that bear witness to violence in Gaza; and more.
Our Columnists
The Great, Cynical Fun of “The Traitors”
The series, which has been remade in dozens of countries, is derivative of other reality-competition shows. What’s different is the mood: it is both quaint and greasy, and perfectly in tune with our culture of incentivized fraud.
How Macron Destabilized France
Widespread protests against his policies were followed by violent riots across the country. Does this mean Marine Le Pen is all but certain to be the next President of France?
Trump’s Repudiation Is at Hand, Right?
As Democrats’ midterm expectations soar, history advises only a lowercase, cautious optimism.
Does the D.S.A. Have a Vision for Public Schools in New York?
Mayor Mamdani’s K-12 platform is increasingly perceived as a “blank space.” Some of his supporters have ideas for filling it.
Ideas
Is God Another Addiction?
A remarkable memoir recounts a writer’s struggles with alcoholism and religious faith—and the unsettling ways in which each has fed her longing for the other.
Wikipedia’s Pyrrhic Victory
The wonder of the online world was built by a community of eccentric volunteers. Can it survive the A.I. models it helped train?
The Battle to Pass a Billionaire Tax
Most Democratic voters say that they favor a wealth tax, but a California ballot initiative has plenty of liberal opponents.
Why America Looks the Way It Does
From vast grids to winding suburbs, Americans have spent two centuries remaking the landscape around property.
It’s the Fish, Stupid
The Democrats have cast the midterm elections as a referendum on President Trump. But in Alaska’s Senate race, which could decide the balance of power in Washington, the Democratic candidate Mary Peltola has tacked a different way. She really just wants to talk about salmon.
.jpg)
A Philosopher of War Changes His Mind
Michael Walzer wrote “Just and Unjust Wars” half a century ago. The war in Gaza made him rethink one of its fundamental principles.
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
Books Everlasting
Despite constant rumors of decline, reading is having a startling renaissance. James Daunt, the chief executive of Barnes & Noble and Waterstones, has built a following with the idea that good bookstores—local, welcoming, and carrying a human touch—are unexpectedly irresistible in the digital era.
In Case You Missed It
Mom left. Dad didn’t tell us anything. He just got up, and dressed, and told us to eat something. I saw some bananas on the kitchen counter with a few freckles on them and tore one from the bunch. Dug a nail through the end and peeled its yellow skin off. It came away in strips, three thick strips. I looked for bruises. I can’t stand eating a banana with bruises and was glad to see there were none.Continue reading »
The Talk of the Town
Fun, fizzy dispatches from the city and beyond.
Daily Cartoon
