The Thingification of AI
The broken-gadget era is upon us.
Racehorses Have No Idea What’s Going On
If you give a horse a trophy, will he even know he raced?
Poetry Is an Act of Hope
Through verse, we can perhaps come closest to capturing events that exist beyond our capacity to describe.
Medieval Pets Had One of Humanity’s Most Cursed Diseases
Medieval people had a lot of leprosy. So did their pet squirrels.
Don’t Both-Sides This One, Joe
Biden’s speech about anti-Semitism is a test of courage as well as compassion.
House Republicans Showed Up at a Campus Protest. Of Course.
Just what the college unrest needed: political theater
When Writers Silence Writers
PEN America and the authoritarian spirit
The Blindness of Elites
Walter Kirn and the empty politics of defiance
How Do You Make a Genuinely Weird Mainstream Movie?
Jane Schoenbrun, the director of the unsettling new film I Saw the TV Glow, has some ideas.
What Is Wagner Doing in Africa?
Russian mercenaries are wringing wealth and political leverage out of the Sahel.
Marijuana’s Health Effects Are About to Get a Whole Lot Clearer
Rescheduling weed will clear the way for scientists to study it more directly.
What’s Left to Restrain Donald Trump?
If the former president really did order an assassination—as his lawyers argue he could—does anyone believe it would cost him his supporters?
Photos of the Week: May Day, Campus Protests, Snake Festival
Devastating floods across Kenya, a pagan fire festival in Scotland, antler gathering in Wyoming, pro-Palestinian demonstrations at many American colleges, and much more
A Failure of Imagination About Trump
American minds are not ready to think about how fast democracy could disintegrate.
Milk Has Lost Its Magic
The bird-flu panic is getting out of hand.
A Critic’s Case Against Cinema
Sixty years ago, Pauline Kael said that the movies were going to pieces. In a sense, she was right.
Biden’s Patience With Campus Protests Runs Out
Chaos in the streets—real, imagined, or exaggerated—is never to an incumbent’s advantage.
Hacks Goes for the Jugular
In its third season, the show faces the failures of late-night comedy head-on.
Trump’s Naps Are Actually Worrying
He can’t even seem to stay awake for his own trial.
Cancer Supertests Are Here
But are they really such a good idea?