The Magazine
October 21, 2024
Goings On
Goings On
The Press-on-Nail Renaissance
Also: Elizabeth Marvel and Amber Iman star in “The Ford/Hill Project,” American Ballet Theatre dances Dostoyevsky, Hilton Als picks Lower East Side galleries, and more.
The Talk of the Town
Jelani Cobb on the Black male vote; hair by Dyson; a doorman opens up; inking Jamie Lloyd; Dimes squire.
Comment
What the Polls Really Say About Black Men’s Support for Kamala Harris
After the 2016 election, progressives blamed white women for Hillary Clinton’s loss. This year, Black men have come under special scrutiny.
Innovations Dept.
James Dyson Moves Beyond the Air-Whooshing
At his new flagship store in SoHo, the British billionaire and vacuum magnate celebrates futuristic headphones and mushroom-enhanced hair-styling products.
Book Report
What Does Your Doorman Say About You?
According to a new memoir by Stephen Bruno, who stands sentry at a building on Park Avenue, there are just three topics of conversation among doormen: baseball, women, and Puerto Rico.
The Boards
A Tattoo Homage to Norma Desmond
Jamie Lloyd, the very inked director of the new Broadway revival of “Sunset Boulevard,” gets a new tattoo inspired by the show.
Invitation Only
How Much of the Dare Is Enough of the Dare?
The musician, a Charli XCX and Billie Eilish collaborator, throws a thirty-six-hour live-streamed party for his new album, “What’s Wrong with New York?”
Reporting & Essays
Reflections
How Alarmed Should We Be If Trump Wins Again?
Even many of the ex-President’s opponents haven’t grasped the scale of the man’s villainy.
Annals of Zoology
How Scientists Started to Decode Birdsong
Language is said to make us human. What if birds talk, too?
The Political Scene
Kamala Harris’s Hundred-Day Campaign
Three months ago, the Vice-President was fighting for respect in Washington. Can she defy her doubters—and end the Trump era?
Personal History
Alexei Navalny’s Prison Diaries
The Russian opposition leader’s account of his last years and his admonition to his country and the world.
Shouts & Murmurs
Shouts & Murmurs
Cowboy-Dance Future World
Under the secret police’s new rules, officially, the word “yee-haw” no longer exists. Nor does the phrase “Watch me go!”
Fiction
Fiction
“My Camp”
You’re my famous cousin, the guy who wrote the book. Their little Jewish writer guy—they’ll trust you.
The Critics
A Critic at Large
The House That Alvin Ailey Built
In “Revelations” and other works, the choreographer created a home for Black dancers.
Books
Ta-Nehisi Coates and the Temptations of Narrative
In “The Message,” Coates counsels against myth but proves susceptible to his own.
On Television
The Rise and Fall of Vince McMahon
The Netflix docuseries “Mr. McMahon” explores the sordid history of the W.W.E. and the man who made it what it is.
The Current Cinema
“Anora” Is a Strip-Club Cinderella Story—and a Farce to Be Reckoned With
Sean Baker’s thrilling film, starring Mikey Madison as a New York sex worker, pushes comic misadventure to the brink of chaos.
Poems
Poems
“Blue Muse of the Unborn Mind”
“In the darkest hour, stars are falling over water / And nothing sentient feels it / Except the mirror of the lake.”
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.