The Magazine
September 2, 2024
Goings On
Goings On
The Charismatic Vitality of Pacita Abad’s Trapuntos
Also: The Nigerian singer Asake, Mark Morris Dance Group’s “Gloria,” the Boscobel Chamber Music Festival, and more.
The Food Scene
A “Top Chef” Winner Reheats at Il Totano
A buzzy new Italian-ish spot from Harold Dieterle doesn’t seem to know what kind of restaurant it’s trying to be.
The Talk of the Town
Jonathan Blitzer on exuberance at the D.N.C.; recording reeds at Vespertine; a symphony of odors; picturing the good life; Kamala’s balloon drop.
Comment
Can Kamala Harris Keep Up the Excitement Through Election Day?
At the Democratic National Convention, the sense of relief was as overwhelming as the general euphoria—but the campaign against Donald Trump has only just begun.
Fine Dining Dept.
Wine, Candlelight, and Singing Swamp Weeds
At Vespertine, the Michelin-starred California restaurant, Jordan Kahn has cooked up a soundtrack with Sigur Rós’s Jónsi Birgisson. The featured musician: a patch of reeds.
Gowanus Report
Along the Gowanus Canal, Notes of Tar and Manure
The perfumer who created such scents as Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds and Clinique’s Happy assesses the eau de Gowanus, one of Brooklyn’s most pungent odors.
Montecito Postcard
Putting a Fine-Art Touch on Fixer-Uppers
Gray Malin, a photographer whose customers include Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez, is now turning his eye to dream houses.
Sketchpad
Convention Sketchpad by Sofia Warren
Taylor? Beyoncé? What everyone was really thinking at the D.N.C.
Reporting & Essays
American Chronicles
The Death of School 10
How declining enrollment is threatening the future of American public education.
Annals of Disaster
Real Estate Shopping for the Apocalypse
Thirty-nine per cent of Americans believe that we’re living in end times, and the market for underground hideouts is heating up.
The Political Scene
Why Was It So Hard for the Democrats to Replace Biden?
After the President’s debate with Trump, Democratic politicians felt paralyzed. At the D.N.C., they felt giddy relief. How did they do it?
Personal History
Early Scenes
The actor recalls a childhood full of danger and adventure in the South Bronx.
Shouts & Murmurs
Shouts & Murmurs
A Guide to Brat Summer
What is Brat? It’s the Cynthia doll from “Rugrats.” It’s praying to Janeane Garofalo to keep you free from harm.
Fiction
Fiction
“The Particles of Order”
If a person’s imagination, kind or wicked, was boundless, sooner or later what was imagined could become a fact.
The Critics
Books
Studying Stones Can Rock Your World
To think like a geologist is to contemplate timescales that stagger the imagination—and lay bare the planetary forces behind our earthly existence.
Books
The Forgotten History of Sex in America
Today’s battles over issues like gender nonconformity and reproductive rights have antecedents that have been lost or suppressed. What can we learn from them?
Books
Briefly Noted
“A Passionate Mind in Relentless Pursuit,” by Noliwe Rooks; “Why Animals Talk,” by Arik Kershenbaum; “The Rich People Have Gone Away,” by Regina Porter; and “Grown Women,” by Sarai Johnson.
On and Off the Menu
Bonnie Slotnick, the Downtown Food-History Savant
In the forty-eight years that she’s lived in the West Village, the owner of the iconic cookbook shop has never ordered delivery.
Pop Music
How Post Malone Made Himself at Home in Country Music
Everyone’s headed to Nashville these days, but no one is as comfortable there as he is.
On Television
Mourning the End of “Evil,” a Show Like Nothing Else on Television
The Paramount procedural’s unusually serious treatment of faith—and delightfully absurdist take on almost everything else—made it a bright spot in an increasingly risk-averse TV landscape.
The Current Cinema
“Between the Temples” Is a Songful, Scathing Jewish American Love Story
Jason Schwartzman and Carol Kane bring imagination and energy to Nathan Silver’s high-strung comedy about a grieving cantor and an elder bat-mitzvah student.
Poems
Poems
“Poem Never to Be Read Aloud”
“No words can tell us how to live, but to live is to reach / for them anyway.”
Cartoons
Puzzles & Games
The Mail
Letters should be sent with the writer’s name, address, and daytime phone number via e-mail to [email protected]. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published in any medium. We regret that owing to the volume of correspondence we cannot reply to every letter.