Why Birds Do What They Do
The more humans understand about their behavior, the more inaccessible their world seems.
The Board Game That Turns Feminism Into a Joke
I played Ms. Monopoly so that you don’t have to.
The Books Briefing: Forecasting Reality
What’s next: Your weekly guide to the best in books
How to Write Science Fiction That Isn’t ‘Useful’
Robin Sloan, the author of Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, discusses his new short story for The Atlantic.
20 Books to Read in Quarantine This Summer
Our picks for immersive, escapist, or nostalgic reading—wherever you are
Cooking Your Way Through the Pandemic
An hour-by-hour account—with recipes
The Paranoid Style in American Entertainment
How the mechanisms of reality TV taught us to trust no one
The 1798 Poem That Was Made for 2020
“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is taking on new meaning during the coronavirus pandemic.
A Pandemic Novel That’s Oddly Soothing
Lawrence Wright’s The End of October has been heavily touted for its prescience, but the one thing it didn’t anticipate is heartening.
A Biblical Mystery at Oxford
A renowned scholar claimed that he discovered a first-century gospel fragment. Now he’s facing allegations of antiquities theft, cover-up, and fraud.
Baseball’s Strange and Poignant Return to TV
The first live sports games to air in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic provide a hopeful, yet harrowing, look at the future.
Emma Donoghue Talks About Her New Novel, The Pull of the Stars
“An epidemic is a narrative gold mine: It ups the stakes for the most everyday interaction between characters, because every kiss becomes a gamble.”
The Blood Tax
New fiction from Emma Donoghue
The Sitcom Dad Who Made Grouchiness Into an Art Form
The actor Jerry Stiller, who died yesterday at age 92, was unforgettable as the irascible Frank Costanza on Seinfeld.
The Day the Live Concert Returns
I don’t know when it will be safe to sing arm in arm at the top of our lungs. But we will do it again, because we have to.
Good Riddance to the Handshake
A terrible custom is gone for good. Hallelujah.
The SNL Season Finale Doesn’t Sugarcoat Pandemic Anxiety
Unlike its previous at-home episodes, last night’s show embraced the existential crisis of the moment.
The Beauty of Age
Scenes from an all-women’s nursing home
Hip-Hop and R&B Were Once Disparate. Andre Harrell Changed That.
The industry icon, dead at 59, ushered in a new sound by bridging two musical worlds.
Hollywood Fails to Sell Its Own Fairy Tale
Ryan Murphy’s Netflix show presents a fantasy in which marginalized people get to make the film they want. But the fun thought exercise curdles into earnest nonsense.