Jay Caspian Kang
Jay Caspian Kang, a staff writer at The New Yorker, is an Emmy-nominated documentary-film director and the author of “The Loneliest Americans.” Prior to joining The New Yorker, he was an opinion writer for the New York Times. His work has appeared in The New York Review of Books, “This American Life,” and the New York Times Magazine. He lives in Northern California with his family. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2024 for his New Yorker work.
What Comes After the Protests
The killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis will continue to bring people to the streets. Can it bring change?
What a Viral YouTube Video Says About the Future of Journalism
A streamer’s investigation of fraud in Minnesota garnered millions of views. His content was questionable, but his methods will likely inspire scores of imitators.
Americans Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media. What Can We Do Instead?
Free-speech norms and powerful tech companies make legal restrictions unlikely—but social changes are already taking place.
Five Things That Changed the Media in 2025
A.I., of course—but there were also other, less obvious stories and trends that are going to shape how we understand the news.
If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books?
Books are inefficient, and the internet is training us to expect optimized experiences.
Jeffrey Epstein, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the Future of American Politics
Life after Trump may not be what we expect.
Nick Fuentes Is Not Just Another Alt-Right Boogeyman
The rise of the white-nationalist streamer should worry us even more than it already does.
Is Gambling Really Threatening the Integrity of Sports?
After a recent N.B.A. scandal, more writers and pundits have come out against legalized betting. But the case that they’re making is weaker than it appears.
What Explains Graham Platner’s Popularity?
The U.S. Senate candidate from Maine seems like the embodiment of the dirtbag left. But there’s another way to understand his appeal.
Sora 2 and the Limits of Digital Narcissism
What we enjoy about generative A.I. may also be its ultimate limitation: we want to see ourselves.
How Will Americans Remember the War in Gaza?
In the twentieth century, we relied on the news media to select images and provide context. Now fewer and fewer of us are seeing the same things.
The Persistent Pull of Planet Epstein
Many Americans have stopped trusting establishment media, and conspiracy-minded content creators are offering them a dark alternative view of the world.
Can the Democrats Take Free Speech Back from the Right?
The opportunity is there, but the Party’s establishment would have to confront the issue that has prompted more recent censorship than any other.
What the Video of Charlie Kirk’s Murder Might Do
Parents have less and less control over what their children see. Our children will likely understand history, and the world, very differently as a result.
Heir Ball: How the Cost of Youth Sports Is Changing the N.B.A.
Pro sports have long seemed like the closest thing we have to a true meritocracy. But maybe not anymore.
What Gavin Newsom’s Embarrassing Podcast Suggests About the Democratic Party
There’s a new strategy of disavowal emerging among some progressive politicians—and it is destined to fail.
The Detention of Mahmoud Khalil Is a Flagrant Assault on Free Speech
Whatever legal rationale the Trump Administration cooks up, deporting protesters for things they say is wildly un-American—and possibly unpopular, too.
Can Americans Still Be Convinced That Principle Is Worth Fighting For?
The limits of rhetoric in Ukraine.
What Will Democratic Resistance Look Like?
Amid the internal crisis of the Democratic Party, historical precedents can both inform and obscure our understanding of how the left might regroup.
A Profoundly Empathetic Book on Homelessness in the Bay Area
Kevin Fagan’s new work moves beyond predictable policy critique to offer a powerful reminder of the moral side of the crisis.