The New Yorker (August 19, 2024): The latest issue featuresBarry Blitt’s “Roller Coaster” – The highs and lows of the campaigns for America’s highest office.
1 Spotlight | On the road: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz re-energise Democrats The US vice-president and her running mate have hit the ground running in their campaign for the White House. Can they keep the momentum going, asks Lauren Gambino.
2 Technology | The fragile world of underwater internet cables Deep-sea wires are the veins of the modern world. What if something were to happen to them? Jonathan Yerushalmy investigates.
3 Feature | Beautiful, bruising and complex female friendships Ahead of her new book examining women’s friendships, the Observer’s Rachel Cooke reflects on two pivotal ones of her own, as well as some notable literary attachments.
4 Opinion | The Olympics showed France’s far right what true patriotism is all about Despite a febrile political backdrop, the Paris Games reminded a nation of what it means to be proud of one’s country, says French sports writer Philippe Auclair.
5 Culture | The second act of Sam Neill He is one of the world’s most famous actors, but the New Zealander – whose cancer is thankfully in remission – can still go to Starbucks without anyone recognising him, finds Zoe Williams.
President Biden has proposed radical changes to the Court. Reviewing them is a reminder of why reform is so hard, despite dissatisfaction and a wealth of ideas.
Julie Benko, who hit it big after going on in place of Beanie Feldstein in “Funny Girl,” has a lot of advice for the Vice-President, now that she’s done with waiting in the wings.
By Zach Helfand
What Does Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Actually Want?
The third-party Presidential candidate has a troubled past, a shambolic campaign, and some surprisingly good poll numbers.
Fifty years after Shirley Chisholm ran for the Presidency, we find ourselves yet again questioning the durability of outmoded presumptions about race and gender. By Jelani Cobb
The Republican National Convention and the Iconography of Triumph
In Milwaukee, with a candidate who had just cheated death, the resentment rhetoric of Trump’s 2016 campaign gave way to an atmosphere of festive certainty. By Anthony Lane
Gillian Anderson’s Sex Education
She became famous playing buttoned-up Agent Scully. But in midlife her characters often have a strong erotic charge—and now she’s edited “Want,” a book of sexual fantasies. By Rebecca Mead
Where Do Republicans and Democrats Stand After the R.N.C.?
Biden imperilled his candidacy at the debate because of his inability to speak coherently. At the convention, Trump was doing something similar, and couldn’t stop. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells
Will Hezbollah and Israel Go to War?
Months of fighting at the border threaten to ignite an all-out conflict that could devastate the region.
Should We Abolish Prisons?
Our carceral system is characterized by frequent brutality and ingrained indifference. Finding a better way requires that we freely imagine alternatives. By Adam Gopnik
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious