The New Yorker
Donald Trump’s Second Coming
As the Republican Convention anoints the ex-President, Susan B. Glasser writes, the Democratic panic over Joe Biden reaches a coup-like crescendo.
Above the Fold
Essential reading for today.
Doctors Are Increasingly Worried About Biden
Nine physicians weighed in on the President’s health. Almost all were concerned that Biden’s symptoms might go beyond a gradual, aging-related decline.
The Rise of the New Right at the Republican National Convention
In Milwaukee, Donald Trump’s choice of J. D. Vance as Vice-President was seen as a breakthrough for the young conservative movement.
Are We Already Moving On from the Assassination Attempt on Trump?
When an act of violence doesn’t lend itself to a clear argument or a tidy story, we often choose not to think about it.
The Paralysis of the Democratic Party
Its leaders have clear moral and political incentives. Why have they not come out against Joe Biden?
Hear No Evil
Lawrence Abu Hamdan, who calls himself a “private ear,” investigates crimes that are heard but not seen.
Inside the Trump Plan for 2025
A network of well-funded far-right activists is preparing for the former President’s return to the White House.
The Political Scene
Why Donald Trump Picked J. D. Vance for Vice-President
The Ohio senator is an attack dog for the former President, but he is also something more emergent and interesting: he is the fuse that Trump lit.
Bernie Sanders Wants Joe Biden to Stay in the Race
But he still won’t say that the President is capable of serving a second term.
In Trump’s Documents Case, Aileen Cannon Tells Jack Smith to Go Away
Judge Cannon treated the charges brought by the special counsel and his team as if they were the work of a vigilante.
Trump, Unity, and MAGA Miracles at the R.N.C.
When the former President walked onto the convention floor, his right ear bandaged, it was the most profound and unexpected culmination of all the messianic talk.
“Bob and Don: A Love Story”
The comedian and beloved straight man Bob Newhart has died, at the age of ninety-four. Judd Apatow’s documentary short explores Newhart’s close, decades-long friendship with the comic Don Rickles, whose insult-comic style contrasted sharply with Newhart’s nice-guy humor. But offstage, the two had much in common. “Watch the film,” Bruce Handy wrote, last year. “It’s a treat.”
The Critics
“Twisters” Takes the Fun Out of Heavy Weather
The original “Twister” had no compunction about making tornadoes look awesome. Lee Isaac Chung’s sequel treats them as deadly serious.
The Original Bluestockings Were Fiercer Than You Imagined
In eighteenth-century England, a cohort of intellectual women braved vicious mockery. But when it came to policing propriety, they could dish it out, too.
Kendrick Lamar’s Freedom Summer
In his new video for “Not Like Us,” the hip-hop artist claims victory in his long battle with Drake.
Olivia Laing Goes Back to the Garden
In the writer’s new book, cultivating your own plot is both a contemplative practice and a communal act.
Clairo Believes in Charm as an Aesthetic and Spiritual Principle
The artist discusses her new album, moving upstate, and the wallop and jolt of romantic connection.
Alice Munro’s Fall from Grace
Revelations about the celebrated writer have reignited debates about how to reckon with artists who do terrible things. Have the years since #MeToo yielded any answers?
What We’re Reading This Week
A kinetic thriller that tracks the disappearance of a young woman from a summer camp in the Adirondacks; an engrossing history about the well-bred English women of the mid-eighteenth century who held salons and wrote prolifically; an inventive novel set shortly after the First World War that fuses period atmosphere with fairy tale; and more.
Goings On
Recommendations from our writers on what to read, eat, watch, listen to, and more.
Nora Burns’s Memory Play “David’s Friend”
A compassionate, more or less one-woman show about immeasurable loss. Plus: the mysterious folksinger Jessica Pratt; Molly Fischer’s book picks for new parents; and more.
“Fly Me to the Moon” Lacks Mission Control
Richard Brody reviews a new rom-com about the marketing of the Apollo space program, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum.
Giddy Joy at MOMA and Summer Podcast Picks
Tadáskía’s awe-inspiring installation, Sarah Larson’s selection of seasonal podcasts, the viciously funny camp farce “Oh, Mary!” on Broadway, and more.
The Central Park Boathouse Is Back and Better
Helen Rosner visits the tourist-bait canteen, recently reopened under new ownership, which is more satisfying than it has any right to be.
Are Hollywood’s Jewish Founders Worth Defending?
Jews in the industry called for the Academy Museum to highlight the men who created the movie business. A voice in my head went, Uh-oh.
The Summer of Sci-Fi
A new book claims that a few big summer movies heralded an epochal shift in the motion-picture industry, but is that really how cultural history works?
Ideas
Do the Democrats Have a Gen Z Problem?
Young people were critical to Biden’s victory in 2020, but recent polls indicate that loyalty might be fraying. Voters of Tomorrow is trying to get the kids back on board.
Losing a Beloved Community
The majority of American evangelicals are politically conservative. A small, radical church community in Philadelphia aspired to reclaim evangelicalism from the right.
Would You Clone Your Dog?
We love our dogs for their individual characters—and yet cloning implies that we also believe their unique, unreproducible selves can, in fact, be reproduced.
The Knotty Death of the Necktie
The pandemic may have brought an end to a flourishing history. For all the accessory’s absurdity, it deserves a moment of mourning.
“Hamster”
A tragic accident turns a lighthearted gathering into a moral quandary for a young Iranian couple, in Fatima Noley’s short film.
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
In Case You Missed It
The Surreal Simulations of a Reality-TV Restaurant Empire
It’s a reunion every night at the “Vanderpump” establishments in Los Angeles.
The Talk of the Town
Daily Cartoon
