Alec Baldwin Gets Under Trump’s Skin
Comedy and tragedy in an age of political chaos
May 2017
In This Issue
The Money Report: how online shopping makes suckers of us all, how Walmart tricks people into saving, the plan to end Europe, and late-night comedy’s role in the rise of Trump. Plus, apps for aid in a humanitarian crisis, and more.
Cover Story
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How Late-Night Comedy Fueled the Rise of Trump
Sneering hosts have alienated conservatives and made liberals smug.
Mexico’s Revenge
By antagonizing the U.S.’s neighbor to the south, Donald Trump has made the classic bully’s error: He has underestimated his victim.
How Online Shopping Makes Suckers of Us All
Will you pay more for those shoes before 7 p.m.? Would the price tag be different if you lived in the suburbs? Standard prices and simple discounts are giving way to far more exotic strategies, designed to extract every last dollar from the consumer.
How to Trick People Into Saving Money
Inside Walmart’s curious, possibly ingenious effort to get customers to build up their savings accounts
Frank and Steven’s Excellent Corporate-Raiding Adventure
Two law professors tried to mimic big activist hedge funds, investing their retirement savings in a small, languishing public company and trying to shake it up. Here’s what happened.
The Brilliant Incoherence of Trump’s Foreign Policy
The United States periodically debates whether to do more or less abroad. Trump won by promising both. But he can’t possibly deliver.
Dispatches
Edmon De Haro Trump’s Plan to End Europe
Why does the president want to undo the post–World War II order?
Julian Callos Big in Australia: Snacktivism
How halal meat, french fries, cheese, and a trio of sauces came to represent much more than food
John Cuneo Golden State Warrior
California’s new attorney general, Xavier Becerra, prepares to battle Trump.
Christopher DeLorenzo Puppy Love
The coddling of the American pet
Ezra Stoller / Esto Jet-Age Chic
The TWA terminal at JFK airport was an icon of mid-century cool. Now it’s being reincarnated as a hotel.
Alvaro Dominguez Apps for Refugees
How technology helps in a humanitarian crisis
Joe McKendry How to Kill a Lake
A very short book excerpt
The Culture File
Gizem Vural Poet on the Edge
Indiana-born, Twitter-savvy, and Millennially mischievous, Patricia Lockwood taps into the temper of the times.
Tatsuro Kiuchi The Secret Life of Pitchers
What happens on the mound has more to do with the mind than the arm.
Mark Wallheiser / Getty A Match Made in Heaven
Why conservative evangelicals have lined up behind Trump
Jules Julien Turning Pain Into Art
How the poets Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell became each other’s tragic muses
FSG A Primal and Eccentric Family Drama
Michael Frank’s sharp memoir about an unusual upbringing
Departments
The Conversation
Readers respond to our March cover story and more.
Graham Roumieu
Poetry
Seam
A poem
