Books & Culture
How Restaurants Survive the Long Pandemic Winter
Amid shutdowns and snowstorms, small businesses stretch to keep staff safe, diners warm, and inspectors out of their hair.
- Books
How Viet Thanh Nguyen Turns Fiction Into Criticism
With “The Committed,” the novelist establishes himself as a conscience of American literature.
- Culture Desk
David Lynch’s Industrious Pandemic
Checking in with the director as he turns seventy-five.
The Latest
The Solace and Stress of a Father-Daughter Quarantine Collaboration
Mark Mahaney’s series of whimsical black-and-white domestic portraits reflects the ups and downs of family life under the pressures of the pandemic.
“Test Pattern,” Reviewed: A Brilliant Début Examines the Aftermath of Sexual Assault
Shatara Michelle Ford’s feature feels conceived not for the purpose of revealing inner lives alone but to put society at large to the test.
Souvankham Thammavongsa on Being Alone as a Love Story
The author discusses “Good-Looking,” her story from this week’s issue of the magazine.
Benoît van Innis’s “Under the Weather”
The artist discusses his cover for the March 1, 2021, issue of the magazine.
The Critics
Tom Stoppard’s Charmed and Haunted Life
A new biography enables us to see beneath the intellectual dazzle of the playwright’s work.
Acting Black and White Onscreen
Race as a performance in “Passing” and “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.”
Julien Baker’s Songs of Addiction and Redemption
On her new album, “Little Oblivions,” it is sometimes hard to tell whether Baker is singing about drug use or love.
Sorrows of Black America
A show of leading Black artists at the New Museum powerfully channels emotional tenors that are true to the history—and the future—of race in this country.
Goings On About Town
Dance Theatre of Harlem’s “Firebird”
The company streams its version of the ballet, with shimmering, polychromatic music by Stravinsky and fantastical sets and costumes by Geoffrey Holder.
A Bollywood-Themed Cook-Along
Audience members for the screenwriter and cookbook author Sri Rao’s interactive performance, “Bollywood Kitchen,” make Mumbai Mules and chicken curry while watching the show.
Slowthai’s Striking New Album
In “TYRON,” the British rapper makes the personal political with two opposing halves: punk thrash versus alternative subtlety.
Photo Booth
The Solace and Stress of a Father-Daughter Quarantine Collaboration
Mark Mahaney’s series of whimsical black-and-white domestic portraits reflects the ups and downs of family life under the pressures of the pandemic.
Podcasts
Congressman Jamie Raskin on Impeaching Donald Trump—Again
The Maryland lawmaker on yet another unprecedented moment in our history. Plus, Atul Gawande on pandemic recovery, and the actor Daniel Kaluuya on “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
Video
A Family’s Secret Grief and Trauma Shared for the First Time
In “No Crying at the Dinner Table,” the filmmaker Carol Nguyen interviews her parents and sister about their private grief and emotions—then plays those interviews back for them together.