G.P.S. and the Lost Art of Getting Lost
A new book, “Little Blue Dot,” by Katherine Dunn, raises questions about the unintended consequences of knowing where we are,…
2026
admin The Godmother of the “Conspiracy Mom”
Jessica Winter writes about Shirley Martin, a J.F.K.-assassination buff and precursor to today’s “conspiracy mom,” who serves as one of…
The Man Who Was Kidnapped Twice
Thousands of people in Nigeria have been held for ransom by bandit groups. One professor escaped his captors—only to be…
Max Miller’s Victim Mentality
Benjamin Wallace-Wells on Max Miller, a Republican congressman from Ohio, who is facing domestic-abuse allegations amid a competitive reëlection campaign.
Ryan Murphy’s Sanded-Down Version of “The Shards”
The director’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s metafictional thriller-slash-gay-awakening story is a “Glee”-ified version of its source material, Leo Lasdun…
The Electability of Abdul El-Sayed
Jason Zengerle writes about Abdul El-Sayed’s victory over Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary race in Michigan, and whether…
How Jordan Harper Reinvented Noir for the Epstein Era
“A Violent Masterpiece,” this year’s buzzy crime novel, inverts the genre’s traditional contrast between superficial optimism and subterranean despair, writes…
What Makes an Adaptation Good?
Richard Brody on Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” and how the art of filmmaking is inseparable from that of adaptation.
Stella Lefty and the Rise of Nepo-Baby Musicians and “Industry Plants”
Brady Brickner-Wood on Stella Lefty, Gracie Abrams, Clairo, Geese, and other artists with rich parents, a savvy social-media-marketing team, or…
The Mentor
Kai Bird and Susan Goldmark on the lawyer who showed an outer-borough striver how to ignore the rules, avoid a…