Culture
How the Composer George Benjamin Finally Found His Voice
He was a prodigy, but became creatively blocked—until he dared to try an opera.
- Annals of Gastronomy
Cynthia Nixon’s Cinnamon-Raisin Bagel and the Faux Food Faux Pas
The controversy over the gubernatorial candidate’s bagel order holds a special place in the honored American tradition of castigating politicians for eating local foods incorrectly.
- Culture Desk
The Origin Story of the Depressingly Good “BoJack Horseman”
“BoJack” is the love foal of Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Lisa Hanawalt, two high-school theatre kids who kept in touch between New York and Los Angeles.
The Latest
The New Yorker Recommends: “The Cement Garden,” Ian McEwan’s Bleak Tale of Incest
McEwan’s evocative detail and perfect British prose lend a genteel decorum to the death and decay that surround a feral nuclear family.
“The First,” Reviewed: Sean Penn’s Mission to Mars Is Futurism with a Nostalgic Bent
The world of the twenty-thirties is largely indistinguishable from ours, although the death of the earth has continued apace.
The Enduring Allure of the Personality Quiz
From Hippocrates’ four humors to the omnipresent Myers-Briggs, personality assessments and predictions promise to categorize human nature.
A Syrian Filmmaker’s Urgent, Intimate View of Exile Deserves a U.S. Release
It is astonishing that Sara Fattahi’s “Chaos,” which won a prize at the Locarno Film Festival, has no American screening coming up.
A Sketchbook of the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference
Screenwriting for Newbies turns into group therapy, writers showcase their ideas at Pitch Slam, and more adventures at the New York Hilton Midtown.
Goings On
Sixty Black Artists, United by Their Politics
“Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power,” which features a hundred and fifty works, opens at the Brooklyn Museum this week.
Penetrating the Veneer of Hospitality Sixty Stories Up, at Manhatta
At Danny Meyer’s new top-floor restaurant, fancy-French-meets-country-club-chic food is served with a side of binoculars.
The Stylish Fantasy of Rose Bar
Between its pricey cocktails, jazz standards, and celebrity photo gallery, the ritzy lounge in the Gramercy Park Hotel provides a break from reality.
Introducing The New Yorker Recommends, where our writers share their cultural enthusiasms.
The Critics
The Real Cost of the 2008 Financial Crisis
The aftermath produced a lost decade for European economies and helped lead to the rise of anti-establishment political movements here and abroad.
Leonard Bernstein and the Perils of Hero Worship
He was a volcanic talent—but the future of classical music cannot consist in waiting for another telegenic superstar.
Olivia Laing’s “Crudo” Is Made from the Raw Material of the Present
A first novel sits at the messy intersection of political turbulence and personal transformation.
Emma Thompson’s Meticulous Intensity in “The Children Act”
In this Ian McEwan adaptation, a performance of supreme intelligence takes us to realms where intelligence is of no avail.
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The Diverging Paths of Two Young Women Foretell the Fate of a Tribe in India
Education opens doors to new opportunities for children from the Dongria tribe, but it also pulls them away from their traditional way of life, and from the land their people have protected for centuries.
Podcasts
Parenting While Deported
A mother, deported to Honduras, tries to parent her children in the U.S. by video call. And a philosopher of identity explains that it’s even more complicated than we think.
Video
The Last Meal Before I Die: Ramen
From Maruchan to Momofuku, a look at America’s love affair with the savory noodle.