DEATH BECOMES HER
The New Yorker|February 27, 2023
Rebecca Makkai confronts our true-crime obsession.
KATY WALDMAN
DEATH BECOMES HER

In her new novel, Makkai models a fresh, more ethical vision of crime writing. 

Maybe it was only a matter of time before the novel took on the podcast. You can barely crack the Times without encountering a heady profile of some hot new podcaster; when critics consider how stories are told—or even just use that language, how stories are told—they are as likely to be discussing podcasts as books. These same critics may belabor themes (the fugitive nature of truth, the slipperiness of memory) popularized by shows such as “Serial,” the 2014 blockbuster, narrated by Sarah Koenig, that investigated the killing of a Maryland girl. The series electrified group chats, provided rich loam for conspiracy theories, and turned hordes of millennials into experts on cell towers. Crucially, it also regarded its own genre, true crime, with ambivalence, wearing its nuance like a finely tailored trenchcoat. By melding suspense and self-awareness, it brought podcasts into a space previously reserved for literature. Eventually, it follows, literature was going to notice.

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The Football Bro - Pat McAfee brings a casual new style to ESPN.
The New Yorker

The Football Bro - Pat McAfee brings a casual new style to ESPN.

If, on a cool weekend morning in autumn, you happen to be watching “College GameDay,” on ESPN, don’t worry about figuring out which of the broadcasters behind the improbably long desk is Pat McAfee. He’s the one with the roast-pork tan, his hair cut high and tight, likely tieless among his more businesslike colleagues. The rest of the onair crew—Lee Corso, Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and, newly, the former University of Alabama coach Nick Saban—tend to look and dress and talk like participants in an old-school Republican-primary debate. McAfee, though, favors windowpane checks on his jackets and a slip of chest poking out from behind his two or three open buttons. If the others are politicians, he’s the cool-coded megachurch pastor who sometimes acts as their spiritual adviser.

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6 mins  |
September 23, 2024
The Dark Time. - On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging.
The New Yorker

The Dark Time. - On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging.

On the Arctic border of Russia and Norway, an espionage war is emerging. The point of contact between NATO and Russia's nuclear stronghold is the small town of Kirkenes. For years, Russia has treated the area as a laboratory, testing intelligence and influence operations before replicating them across Europe.

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10+ mins  |
September 16, 2024
MIRROR IMAGES
The New Yorker

MIRROR IMAGES

‘A Different Man” and The Substance.”

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6 mins  |
September 23, 2024
OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY
The New Yorker

OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY

Proximity to wealth proves perilous in Rumaan Alam’ novel Entitlement.”

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9 mins  |
September 23, 2024
EYES WIDE SHUT
The New Yorker

EYES WIDE SHUT

How Monet shared a private world.

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10+ mins  |
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WITH THE MOSTEST
The New Yorker

WITH THE MOSTEST

The very rich hours of Pamela Harriman.

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10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
HUGO HAMILTON AUTOBAHN
The New Yorker

HUGO HAMILTON AUTOBAHN

On the Autobahn outside Frankfurt. November. The fields were covered in a thin sheet of snow.

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10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
TRY IT ON
The New Yorker

TRY IT ON

How Law Roach reimagined red-carpet style.

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10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
SORRY I'M NOT YOUR CLOWN TODAY
The New Yorker

SORRY I'M NOT YOUR CLOWN TODAY

Bowen Yang's trip to Oz, by way of conversion therapy and S..N.L.”

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10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024
SNIFF TEST
The New Yorker

SNIFF TEST

A maverick perfumer tries to make his mark on a storied fashion house.

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10+ mins  |
September 23, 2024