Joan Didion’s Magic Trick
What was it that gave her such power?
June 2022
In This Issue
Chasing Joan Didion, flawed forensic science, Ukrainian refugees in Poland, and how politics poisoned evangelical churches. Plus losing Medgar Evers, the words that lead to mass murder, Tracy Flick, Werner Herzog, chewing gum, primates and patriarchy, and more.
Cover Story
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‘You Cannot Host Guests Forever’
How long will Polish solidarity with Ukrainian refugees last?
How Politics Poisoned the Evangelical Church
The movement spent 40 years at war with secular America. Now it’s at war with itself.
Did James Parsons Kill His Wife?
A bloodstain expert’s testimony helped put him in prison. But can forensic science be trusted?
The Day the Civil-Rights Movement Changed
What my father saw in Mississippi
Dispatches
HIP / Art Resource, NY Ukraine and the Words That Lead to Mass Murder
First comes the dehumanization. Then comes the killing.
Culture & Critics
Illustration by Gabriela Pesqueira. Source: Omar Vega / Getty A Late-Night Show for Red America
Greg Gutfeld has owned the libs all the way to the top of the ratings.
Pamela Guest Tracy Flick vs. Toxic Masculinity
Tom Perrotta reassesses his ’90s antihero.
Natalya Balnova How Primate Research Was Hijacked by Sexist Ideologues
The shared history of apes and humans has long been put to political use.
Nadav Kander / Trunk Archive The Defiant Strangeness of Werner Herzog
The director brings his signature theme—adventurers who share his quixotic compulsions—to his debut novel.
Departments
Katie Martin Why Interview an Autocrat?
Readers respond to our April 2022 cover story and more.
Tim Lahan An Ode to Chewing Gum
Have a stick.
Poetry
Gabriela Pesqueira
