The Magazine
September 1 & 8, 2025
Goings On
Goings On
Anthony Roth Costanzo Channels Maria Callas in “Galas”
Plus: the eclectic chaos of Haim, Trajal Harrell struts the catwalk at Park Avenue Armory, “Mamma Mia!” returns to Broadway, and more.
The Food Scene
New York City, Taco Town
A new wave of excellent spots, such as Santo Taco and Tacos 1986, has transformed the landscape.
The Talk of the Town
Jill Lepore on Trump’s efforts to reshape America’s past; advantage, Mamdani; J6ers remixed; listening along with Fred Armisen; sweat culture.
Comment
The Trump Administration’s Efforts to Reshape America’s Past
Ahead of next year’s two-hundred-and-fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the White House has issued a directive to the Smithsonian.
On the Hustings
Zohran Mamdani Talks Love and Deuce with Some New Friends
The mayoral candidate and social-media whiz hit the bleachers at the U.S. Open for a new kind of social-media gambit: the fan meetup.
Dept. of Remixes
“We Are the World,” January 6th Style
In a Miami studio where the Eagles and Bob Marley recorded, a choir of pardoned Capitol rioters tries to “reclaim” the national anthem.
Surround Sound
Fred Armisen Goes Bang! Zip! Zoop!
The latest album from the musical “S.N.L.” alum is a compilation of sound effects, including such tracks as “Obligatory Applause at a Speech” and “Tentative Sawing.”
Storytelling Dept.
Sweating and Storytelling in a Williamsburg Sauna
Aufguss: a world championship for twirling a really hot towel.
Reporting & Essays
Dept. of Amplification
The History of The New Yorker’s Vaunted Fact-Checking Department
Reporters engage in charm and betrayal; checkers are in the harm-reduction business.
The Weekend Essay
Inside the World of “The Great British Bake Off”
The show captures disastrous custard-making, quintessentially British faux-modesty, and the blistering hubris of bakers—including me.
Profiles
Patricia Lockwood Goes Viral
The writer’s new novel, “Will There Ever Be Another You,” is a singular account of losing her mind, body, and art to COVID—and of trying to get them back.
Letter from Tokyo
How Weekly Shōnen Jump Became the World’s Most Popular Manga Factory
The magazine, home to such series as “Naruto” and “One Piece,” has created a formula for coaxing hit franchises out of young talents. The twenty-four-year-old behind “Kagurabachi” may be next.
A Reporter at Large
How a Billionaire Owner Brought Turmoil and Trouble to Sotheby’s
Patrick Drahi made a fortune through debt-fuelled telecommunications companies. Now he’s bringing his methods to the art market.
Onward and Upward with the Arts
A24’s Empire of Auteurs
The studio is brilliant at selling small, provocative films. Now it wants to sell blockbusters, too.
Portfolio
Critical Distance
Richard Renaldi’s large-format portraits capture the New Yorker writers who hold the culture to account.
Showcase
The Mysterious Cover Artist Who Captured the Decline of the Rich
Mary Petty was reclusive, uncompromising, but she peered into a fading world with unmatched warmth and brilliance.
Takes
Takes
Nathan Heller on E. B. White’s Paragraph About the Moon Landing
What sort of response could measure up to the occasion? White’s idea was as simple as it was audacious.
Takes
Rachel Cusk on Muriel Spark’s “The House of the Famous Poet”
The author on the New Yorker story that inspired her story “Project.”
Fiction
The Critics
A Critic at Large
How Music Criticism Lost Its Edge
Music writers were once known for being much crankier than the average listener. What happened?
Books
Briefly Noted
“Twelve Churches,” “My Childhood in Pieces,” “Women, Seated,” and “World Pacific.”
Books
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Latest Epiphanies
“Eat, Pray, Love” was a huge hit in part because readers imagined they could be like its author. Her new book, “All the Way to the River,” shows how dubious that notion was.
Books
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Celebrity picture books are having a moment. Are these the stories our children deserve?
The Theatre
A Merry and Rambunctious “Twelfth Night” in Central Park
At the newly renovated Delacorte, Saheem Ali directs a celebrity-packed production that is comically inventive but rarely stirring.
The Current Cinema
“Splitsville” Plays Infidelity for Laughs; “A Little Prayer” Shows What’s Really at Stake
The meticulous shotmaking of Michael Angelo Covino’s film belies a dramatic staleness, whereas Angus MacLachlan orchestrates a powerfully understated catharsis.
Cartoons
Puzzles & Games
The Mail
Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address, and daytime phone number via e-mail to themail@newyorker.com. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium. We regret that owing to the volume of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter.