THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE- MAY 17, 2026

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THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: The 5.17.26 Issue features Chris Pomorski on the famed freediver Francisco Ferreras; Reginald Dwayne Betts on learning to shoot a gun; Roger Cohen on the leader of Argentina as a MAGA celebrity; and more.

The Strange Alliance Trying to Remake American Psychiatry

An unlikely alliance between HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and “critical psychiatry” activists is challenging decades of medical orthodoxy by targeting the widespread, and often harmful, reliance on psychotropic medications. This movement argues that mainstream psychiatry pathologizes normal human suffering, prompting some medical professionals to preemptively develop deprescribing guidelines to safely taper patients off medication.

Why ‘Smart’ Products Have Started to Look Like the Dumb Choice

How Wi-Fi-connecting, app-based tech led to a backlash in the name of simplicity. By Nitsuh Abebe

The Testosterone Moment Is Here. And Men May Never Look the Same.

From the Trump administration to online influencers, the hormone is increasingly seen as the key to achieving a new male ideal. By Azeen Ghorayshi

The Astounding Discovery That Could Link Eastern and Western Medicine

THE NEW YORK TIMES – SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2026

Soaring Prices Test Voters’ Finances and Patience With Trump

Just months before another election that may hinge on the economy, the war in Iran has sent the price of gas and other goods soaring.

U.S. Debt Is Now Bigger Than the Economy. That’s Not the Real Problem.

Trump Tightens Grasp on G.O.P. as Cassidy Loss Shows Cost of Defiance

The defeat of Senator Bill Cassidy showed President Trump’s party dominance, but Republicans are bracing for a potential backlash to his presidency in November.

How a Secretive Firm Tried (and Failed) to Fix an Epstein Friend’s Tattered Image

Terakeet, a reputation management firm, attempted to downplay the friendship of the Goldman Sachs general counsel, Kathryn Ruemmler, with Jeffrey Epstein.

The Big Questions About Epstein: What The Times Has Learned

Want to See the Epstein Files in Print? Here Are the 3,437 Volumes.

Wave of Ukrainian Strikes Kills at Least 4, Russia Says

More than 550 drones were intercepted or shot down in over a dozen regions, including Moscow, in one of largest attacks of the war.