The Magazine
April 7, 2025
Goings On
Goings On
Richard Brody’s New Directors/New Films Picks
Also: The hundred-year-old jazz saxophonist Marshall Allen, Baz Luhrmann’s dramatic new East Village bar, Alice Childress’s “Wine in the Wilderness,” and more.
Photo Booth
For Elias Williams, the Hip-Hop Beat Machine Carries the Soul of Community
In “Straight Loops, Light & Soul,” a project evoking Roy DeCarava’s Harlem jazz pictures and the music of J Dilla, Williams captures the underground beat-maker scene of New York City.
The Talk of the Town
David Remnick on the greater scandal of Signalgate; shelling out; the “White Lotus” effect; rock-opera rehearsals; basketball mimics.
Comment
The Greater Scandal of Signalgate
The spectacle of incompetence and the attempts to smear a reporter are a misery; even worse is the encroaching threat of autocracy that cannot be concealed or encrypted.
Breakfast Dept.
Two Over Easy, with a Side of Xanthan Gum
With egg prices soaring, New York bodegas are asking if liquid eggs can save the bacon, egg, and cheese.
Arts and Crafts
Leslie Bibb Goes Indigo
Stateside again, the “White Lotus” star discusses life with her partner, Sam Rockwell, and whether Patrick Schwarzenegger really eats two breakfasts.
Doppelgänger Dept.
The Instagrammer Who Floats Like James Harden and Shoots Like Shaq
Maxim Peranidze, a twenty-six-year-old Angeleno from Moldova, has a knack for impersonating basketball stars, aided by fake beards, embellished jerseys, and his twin, Gene.
The Boards
Kevin McDonald, Superstar!
In his new rock opera, the Canadian comedian and Kids in the Hall veteran conjures a boozy night from the nineties, with an assist from Dave Hill on electric guitar.
Reporting & Essays
American Chronicles
Does the Knot Have a “Fake Brides” Problem?
The popular wedding website helps d.j.s, caterers, and florists find spouses-to-be. Some venders say they’re finding something else.
The Ancient World
Why Catullus Continues to Seduce Us
Imbuing his work with a volatile mix of tenderness, aggression, sophistication, and obscenity, the Roman poet left a record of a divided and fascinating self.
The Political Scene
The Senate’s Age of Irrelevance
Elon Musk’s DOGE and Trump’s executive orders are pushing Congress’s upper chamber from ineffectiveness to obsolescence. Will John Thune, the new Majority Leader, let them?
Takes
Takes
Elizabeth Kolbert on John McPhee’s “Encounters with the Archdruid”
The nominal subject was the Sierra Club leader David Brower, but McPhee allowed a mining expert named Charles Park to share the stage.
Shouts & Murmurs
Shouts & Murmurs
Mixed Signals
Who says there are no historical precedents for accidentally including a journalist on top-secret war plans?
Fiction
Fiction
“Marseille”
Alba stretched her arms dramatically. “I mean, I guess it would be fun to have an amoureux in Marseille. Handy for holidays.”
The Critics
A Critic at Large
It’s Always the Other Side That’s Been Brainwashed
What talk of brainwashing helps us not to talk about.
Books
Why the Court Hit the Brakes on School Desegregation
Two decades after Brown v. Board, the Supreme Court struck down a desegregation order—and paved the way for today’s retrenchment efforts.
Books
Briefly Noted
“Taking Manhattan,” “Mornings Without Mii,” “Goddess Complex,” and “Death Takes Me.”
The Theatre
An Overpriced “Othello” Goes Splat on Broadway
Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal lack direction, and “The Trojans,” a spirited football-themed Iliad, heads for the end zone.
On Television
The Second Season of “Wolf Hall” Surpasses Its Acclaimed Predecessor
In the culmination of the Hilary Mantel adaptation, Mark Rylance’s Thomas Cromwell becomes a more poignant figure, weighed down by regrets.
Cartoons
Puzzles & Games
The Mail
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