The Magazine
February 3, 2020
Goings On
Tables for Two
HK Food Court, a One-Stop Shop for Pan-Asian Cravings
The new Elmhurst outpost features stalls serving regional Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Filipino cuisine, from haunting hot-and-sour soup to stewed pork leg.
By Hannah Goldfield
Art
The Epic Story of Africa’s Flourishing Cultures
“Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara,” at the Met, presents two hundred treasures from a vast region of the continent, from the fourth century through the nineteenth.
The Talk of the Town
Jelani Cobb on impeachment obstruction; the Jay Sekulow Band; Vital Voices; theatrical jujitsu; Grrridiron Girls (and boys).
Game Face
The Super Bowl, with Estrogen
At a football workshop for girls, the coaching style is part Oprah Winfrey, part Bill Belichick.
By Tim Struby
The Boards
Old Married (Not to Each Other) Costars Try Jujitsu
The stars of the revival of Sondheim’s “Company” work on their martial-arts technique.
By Michael Schulman
Hollywood Postcard
Hillary Clinton and Patricia Arquette Get Feminist AF
Days before her Bernie blast surfaced, Clinton joined Sally Field, Alyssa Milano, and friends to talk about getting women to raise their voices.
By Sheila Yasmin Marikar
Dept. of Hobbies
Impeachment by Day, Drum Solo by Night
More cowbell! Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow, is the Beltway John Bonham, churning out propaganda rock with John Elefante from the band Kansas.
By Tyler Foggatt
Comment
Trump, Impeachment, and the Short-Term Thinking of the G.O.P.
From its relinquishing of executive oversight in the Senate to its embrace of inflammatory nativism, the Party has been perilously shortsighted.
By Jelani Cobb
Reporting & Essays
A Reporter at Large
The Woman Shaking Up the Diamond Industry
Eira Thomas’s company has used radical new methods to find some of the biggest uncut gems in history.
By Ed Caesar
Profiles
James Corden’s Do-Over
The late-night TV host sees his job as a chance to spread joy.
By Michael Schulman
The Future of Democracy
The Last Time Democracy Almost Died
Learning from the upheaval of the nineteen-thirties.
By Jill Lepore
American Chronicles
The Fight to Preserve African-American History
Activists and preservationists are changing the kinds of places that are protected—and what it means to preserve them.
By Casey Cep
Shouts & Murmurs
Fiction
The Critics
Books
Briefly Noted
“Hymns of the Republic,” “Virginia Woolf,” “Divide Me by Zero,” and “Stories of the Sahara.”
A Critic at Large
Toni Morrison’s Profound and Unrelenting Vision
“The Bluest Eye,” which was published fifty years ago, cut a new path through the American literary landscape by placing black girls at the center of the story.
By Hilton Als
Books
The Pitfalls and the Potential of the New Minimalism
The mantra of “less is more” still obeys a logic of accumulation—but it hints at genuinely different ways of thinking.
By Jia Tolentino
The Theatre
The Dangers of Ambition in “A Soldier’s Play” and “Timon of Athens”
Two shows offer disillusioned illustrations of social positions gone sour.
By Vinson Cunningham
On Television
The Magical Thinking of “The Goop Lab”
Lowbrow, with high production values, Gwyneth Paltrow’s new Netflix series is a soulful kind of sponcon.
By Doreen St. Félix
The Current Cinema
“The Gentlemen” Is a Nasty Piece of Work
Guy Ritchie’s new film is baiting us, praying that we will take offense, and challenging us to flinch.
By Anthony Lane
Poems
Cartoons
1/15
Cartoon by David Sipress
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“What the hell was he thinking?”
Cartoon by Julia Suits
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“Really, what’s the point of being married if we still have to get dressed and go out?”
Cartoon by Barbara Smaller
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“No, Al, you can’t just ‘stake your reputation’ on it.”
Cartoon by Zachary Kanin
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“What have you done with the original hardwood floors?”
Cartoon by Liana Finck
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Cartoon by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin
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“Oh, the #humanity!”
Cartoon by Emily Flake
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“No plans set in stone yet, but I’ll probably spend some time getting on my wife’s last nerve, maybe hyperfocus on the lawn.”
Cartoon by Teresa Burns Parkhurst
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“That’s a very impressive mating dance, but you should know I’m currently in a relationship.”
Cartoon by Mick Stevens
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“Sign here, initial here, rassle Zeke for the keys, and you’re all set.”
Cartoon by David Borchart
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“Everything depends upon the red wheelbarrow.”
Cartoon by Edward Steed
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“I’m not complaining. I’m just saying I wish I had brought my gloves.”
Cartoon by Robert Leighton
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“I don’t know any scary stories, so I thought we could just watch a bunch of YouTube clips of robots performing human jobs.”
Cartoon by Lars Kenseth
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Cartoon by Liza Donnelly
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Cartoon by Adam Douglas Thompson
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Cartoon Caption Contest
The Mail
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