CATEGORIES

The Science of Us : Stephen S. Hall

What If They Make a Vaccine and Nobody Takes It? There are already clear signs that the public is suspicious about corners being cut.

Desperate to Be Relevant

Antebellum is cinema’s latest failed attempt to speak to “the moment.” ANTEBELLUM is out September 18.

Hao Noodle's Zhu Rong on Reopening in China— and on Sixth Avenue

“I love New York, but it’s just a different situation.”

Yes, Fall It's Still Happening

THE CHANGE OF SEASONS during a pandemic can happen almost imperceptibly. Suddenly, summer has slipped through your fingers. Fall usually signals the start of a fresh cultural calendar, but this year, none of the clear markers are there. Broadway remains shut down; the pageantry of Oscar season isn’t quite the same when everything’s streaming; release dates are pitched further into the distance, pegged to the hope of some theoretical future. But amid uncertainty, great art can feel like a grounding force, and there’s plenty to challenge, entertain, and debate this fall. The final stretch of 2020 includes some of the most exceptional films, shows, and books of the year: weird clown comedy, the next Big Little Lies–style soap, and the kinds of novels that help you see the world more clearly. Mark your calendars—just maybe use a pencil.

The Very Suddenly Very Wide World of Masks

HOW OFTEN DOES IT HAPPEN that nearly every (rational) human in America simultaneously starts to wear an item few had worn before? In the span of less than a year, a sprawling multibillion-dollar fabric-face-mask industry has emerged; in the pages that follow, we make sense of it all—vetting more than 50 options, including the antimicrobial, the Rick Ross–approved, and a few not necessarily functional ones, like this invention from the L.A. denim brand 69.

The Eco–Yogi Slumlords of Brooklyn

How did a couple who BUILT AN EMPIRE of YOGA STUDIOS, VEGAN RESTAURANTS, and homes with LIVING WALLS” end up as PANDEMIC VILLAINS?

Mariah After Midnight

Thirty years into an epic career, Mariah Carey is still trying to explain herself.

The Culture Business: Mark Harris

The Expendables What if the movie studios decide they don’t need theaters after all?

THE LOST SEASON

Fashion’s leading designers spent the past half-year reconsidering everything from the relentless pace of consumerism to their own relationships with creativity. What do they have to show for it?

REMEMBRANCE Gail Sheehy

One of New York’s most daring writers never stopped reporting.

Modest Proposals: Matthew Yglesias

America Times Three A population of a billion would (maybe?) solve all the country’s problems.

Laughing Into the Void

Turns out watching live comedy outdoors hits differently.

Intelligencer – Harlem Is the Song of Summer

After a cruel, quiet spring, the neighborhood wakes up.

What Will the First Day of School Look Like?

Terrified teachers. Obstinate officials. Exhausted parents. Inside the messy, bungled battle to reopen the city’s schools.

Flo Milli Is Only Going Up From Here

The rising rapper from Mobile, Alabama, spins rhymes that sound like schoolyard taunts.

126 Minutes With… Tammie Teclemariam

Food media’s flamethrower.

After Huxley

YouTubers Myka and James Stauffer adopted a toddler from China and shared every step of the process with their online audience. Except the last.

Pandemic Prescriptions: Vincent Bevins

Returning the Cities to Renters Europe’s tourism spots are using the crisis as a cure for Airbnb.

SGT. MULLINS GOES TO WAR

As president of the NYPD’s sergeants union, ED MULLINS has become the city’s most virulent opponent of police reform.

The HiHi System

New York’s foremost regional-food geeks revive the criminally underrepresented slider.

The Most TREMENDOUS REELECTION Campaign in AMERICAN HISTORY EVER

INSIDE THE CHAOTIC, DESPERATE, LAST-MINUTE TRUMP 2020 REBOOT.

Bringing Back Bright Eyes

Conor Oberst returns, but this time he’s happy not to be in the spotlight anymore.

A Castle Near the Sand

Cecilia Dean and David Selig’s Rockaways retreat.

Family Strife

In My Skin veers between coming-of-age comedy and serious drama.

Good Conflict

The world is consumed by violent fights and hostile disagreements. SARAH SCHULMAN sees a way out of them.

The Making of a Molotov Cocktail

Two lawyers, a summer of unrest, and a bottle of Bud Light.

47 minutes with… Lezley McSpadden

Six years, two district attorneys, and a national reckoning later, Michael Brown’s mother is still seeking justice.

Taylor Goes Minimalist

For the pop diva, folklore is uncharted territory.

Amy Seimetz's Mirror Worlds

In her new absurdist thriller, She Dies Tomorrow, the director-actress dares to think the unthinkable.

A Word on Seinfeld

The things you notice when you rewatch, rather than cancel, old sitcoms.