The New Yorker
Chaos Theory
Overwhelmed by too much stuff, we hire experts to help us sort things out. But what’s really behind all the clutter? Jennifer Wilson on what professional organizers know about our lives.
Today’s Mix
Reasons to Leave Syria—and to Return
In one border town, some Syrians were fleeing to Lebanon, as others celebrated Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, or returned from exile in search of the missing.
The Year in Brain Rot
The Web series “Skibidi Toilet” and its associated lexicon entered my household around March.
In South Korea, a Blueprint for Resisting Autocracy?
After President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered martial law, the legislature voted to impeach him. But it could take months to remove him from office, and uncertainties remain.
The Cartoons and Puzzles Issue 2024
Indulge in this holiday feast of an issue.
The Lede
A daily column on what you need to know.
Syria After Assad
The scramble is on to define the future of Syria, quickly, to avert a war even more divisive than the conflict that has riven the nation for thirteen years.
Luigi Mangione and the Making of a Modern Antihero
The support for the alleged shooter is rooted in an American tradition of exalting the outlaw.
The International Court of Justice Takes On Climate Change
Thanks to the maneuverings of the tiny nation of Vanuatu, the entire industrialized world is effectively on trial in The Hague.
How Would Kash Patel Compare to J. Edgar Hoover?
If Trump’s pick to lead the F.B.I. gets confirmed, the Bureau could be politicized in ways that even its notorious first director would have rejected.
The Secret History of Risotto
The dish is governed by a set of laws that are rooted in tradition, rich in common sense, and aching to be broken or bent.
Our Columnists
How Did We End Up with Such a Bad Health-Care System?
The murder of the UnitedHealthcare C.E.O. and the reaction it provoked have revived long-standing debates about medical care in the U.S.
How “Nickel Boys” Critiques the Camera in America Cinema
RaMell Ross’s drama—a remarkable one, about institutions, Black male friendship, social mimicry, and the Black political dream—feels shot through with the history of American image-making.
The Resurrection of Bill Belichick
After failing to land another job in the N.F.L., the former New England Patriots coach is headed to the University of North Carolina. Will it work?
The Year Creators Took Over
The attention economy has dominated the Internet for more than a decade now, but never before have its protagonists felt so central to American life—or had such direct access to the levers of power.
The Confident Anxiety of Rashid Johnson
The artist, who is preparing for a major mid-career show at the Guggenheim, explores depths of masculine vulnerability that few of his contemporaries have touched.
2024 in Review
The Best Pop Songs
The year’s breakthrough music moments included a Taylor Swift comeback, an unexpected Internet-rap collab, and an absurdist sample of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”
Hotter and Hotter
Scientists don’t yet understand why temperatures have been steadily spiking above the projections. But what they do understand is bad enough.
The Best TV Shows
In an otherwise bleak year for television, a few truly great entries shone all the more brightly.
The Animals That Made It All Worth It
This year, it was hard to feel good about humans. Moo Deng, Crumbs, and Pilaf kept us sane.
The Best Performances
A middle-aged, murderous Tom Ripley; a boozy, stagestruck Mary Todd Lincoln; an unlikely pair of singers at the Grammys—these were the acts that broke through the noise of this fractious, tumultuous year.
The Best Podcasts
Despite industry turmoil, old and new shows continue to innovate, whether investigating Elon Musk, high-school mysteries, or our relationship to death itself.
Instagram’s Favorite New Yorker Cartoons
Jokes about spinach, laundry, politics, and “The Bear” proved popular among the scrollers and double-tappers this year.
Have the Democrats Become the Party of the Élites?
The sociologist Musa al-Gharbi argues that the “Great Awokening” alienated “normie voters,” making it difficult for Kamala Harris—and possibly future Democrats—to win.
The Critics
Missing Persons: The Characters of “Nightbitch” Are Left Blank
Marielle Heller’s adaptation of Rachel Yoder’s novel, starring Amy Adams, omits most of the protagonist’s inner life and shrinks the outer life, too.
Sure, “Paradise Lost” Is Radical, but Did You Know It Was Sexy?
A new study charts John Milton’s influence on revolutionary thinkers but misses the sheer seductiveness of his masterwork.
Up from Urkel, World-Famous Nerd
In his book “Growing Up Urkel,” Jaleel White details how “Family Matters,” for good or ill, brought a new Black male archetype to the culture’s doorstep.
Nikki Giovanni’s Legacy of Black Love
Remembering an indelible American author and activist.
Three Exceptional Panettones
When it comes to the Italian holiday loaf, there’s magnificence and there’s stultifying disappointment, with little in between.
The Mordant Observations of a Legendary Muse
Caroline Blackwood inspired paintings by Lucian Freud and poetry by Robert Lowell. Her own work has been unjustly forgotten.
The Essential Reads of 2024
Our writers’ and editors’ roundup of favorites includes an investigation of the C.I.A.’s shortcomings, a woman’s road trip through the personal and sexual upheavals of middle age, a history of the plundering of the planet, and more.
Special Puzzles & Games
A gift bag of fun for the holidays.
Complements of the Chef
It’s up to you to rescue tonight’s meal by putting together the proper pairings.
Outside Man
Brady Corbet turned his artistic frustration into an American epic. “The Brutalist,” despite a budget of just ten million dollars, is a nearly four-hour exercise in maximalism.
Ideas
The New Business of Breakups
After getting dumped (by text), a writer investigates the feverish boom in heartbreak apps, breakup coaches, and get-over-him getaways.
A Bionic Leg Controlled by the Brain
A new kind of prosthetic limb depends on carbon fibre and computer chips—and the reëngineering of muscles, tendons, and bone.
What Does a Translator Do?
Damion Searls, who has translated a Nobel laureate, believes his craft isn’t about transforming or reflecting a text. It’s about conjuring one’s experience of it.
Converting to Judaism in the Wake of October 7th
For decades, I maintained a status quo of living like a Jew without being one. When I finally pursued conversion, I discovered that I was part of a larger movement born of crisis.
The Gilded Age of Medicine
Health insurers and hospitals increasingly treat patients less as humans in need of care than consumers who generate profit.
Puzzles & Games
Take a break a play.
[New HP] Cartoon Caption Contest
We provide a cartoon, you provide a caption.
