The New Yorker
Trump’s Executive-Order Power Grabs
Upon his return to the White House, Trump repeatedly asserted that he can make and interpret law, alongside Congress and the courts. Jeannie Suk Gersen writes about how much authority he actually has.
Today’s Mix
Trump Is Already Drowning Us in Outrages
A guide to the Week One distractions, late-night devilry, executive overreach, and the Administration’s early infighting.
The 2025 Oscar Nominations and What Should Have Made the List
In a time of crisis, the Academy is offering a bulwark of humane consensus, though its blind spots remain.
Is Social Media More Like Cigarettes or Junk Food?
Lawmakers attempting to regulate children’s access to social media must decide whether bans or warning labels are the optimal route for keeping kids safe.
How the Academy Awards Have Adapted to Catastrophe
The L.A. wildfires have resurfaced an old question: Are times too dark for a glitzy awards ceremony?
Oscar Season
Watch nominated films and read up on the nominees.
Two New Yorker Films Receive 2025 Oscar Nominations
Watch “Incident,” a documentary about a police shooting, and “I’m Not a Robot,” a darkly comic short about technology and identity.
Brady Corbet’s Outsider American Epic
“You really have to dare to suck to transcend,” says the director, who is nominated for his film “The Brutalist.”
RaMell Ross on Making a Haunting Scene
The Oscar-nominated filmmaker discusses finding the proper perspective for depicting the characters of his latest film adaptation, “Nickel Boys.”
For Isabella Rossellini, Acting Goes Beyond Words
The actress is touring a one-woman show about animals and has been nominated for an Oscar for “Conclave,” a film in which she hardly speaks.
Sebastian Stan’s Crash Course in Becoming Trump
After a long tour of duty in the Marvel universe, the actor has been nominated for his starring role in “The Apprentice.”
Jesse Eisenberg Has a Few Questions
The multihyphenate discusses his new film, “A Real Pain”; grappling with what it means to be good; and the scripts, songs, and jokes that “never see the light of day.”
Why Is the Mastermind of Trump’s Tariff Plan Still Sitting at Home in Florida?
Robert Lighthizer, the former U.S. Trade Representative, lost his bid to rejoin the White House, but he still believes the President’s protectionist instincts can jump-start American manufacturing.
The Lede
A daily column on what you need to know.
Donald Trump Invents an Energy Emergency
The Day One executive orders call for more drilling—something that, really, nobody wants.
Climate Whiplash and Fire Come to L.A.
Climate change has brought both fiercer rains and deeper droughts, leaving the city with brush like kindling—and the phenomenon is on the rise worldwide.
Donald Trump Returns to Washington
The weekend’s pre-inaugural balls and parties reflected the exuberance of an ascendant MAGA movement—and the factional dissent already emerging.
What Trump 2.0 Means for Ukraine and the World
The President’s various foreign-policy “personas” vacillate between a desire for domination and withdrawal.
The Master Builder
The British architect Norman Foster has built an unprecedented factory of fine design. Inside the world of the man who has created exquisite monuments for ultra-wealthy clients—from the ring-shaped headquarters for Apple, in California, to the towering new JPMorgan Chase building, in Manhattan.
Our Columnists
Trump’s Inaugural Day of Vindication
The reëlected President reprised his “American Carnage” address, with repeated jabs at America’s “decline” under Biden, but his central theme, as always, was himself.
A Longtime Biden Adviser Gives a Final Defense of Bidenomics
Jared Bernstein says that Trump is inheriting a strong economy, but with less freedom to maneuver than he had during his first term.
The Cruel Abstraction of “Beast Games”
On a competition show made by the YouTube sensation MrBeast, the people are faceless and the challenges are vicious.
What’s Really Behind the House Bill to Ban Transgender Athletes from School Sports?
Trans people comprise a scant portion of athletes, at all levels, but the drive to bar them from participating in competitive sports has never been about numbers.
What D.C. Saw at Donald Trump’s Second Inauguration
Thousands of MAGA supporters poured into the Capital One Arena as the new Administration took shape in ballrooms across the city.
How a School Shooting Became a Video Game
Games are often blamed for gun violence, but the parents of one victim believe the form can raise awareness instead.
The Critics
Donald Trump Plays Church
On Inauguration Day, the forty-seventh President cast himself as an especially favored vessel of the Almighty.
Washington’s Hostess with the Mostes’
Dinner parties in the capital have long been a path to power, but Perle Mesta had her eye on a different prize.
Are We Living in a Dystopia?
The sci-fi series “Silo” is the latest in a string of popular post-apocalyptic dramas with an increasingly uncanny resonance.
The Ghost’s-Eye View of Steven Soderbergh’s “Presence”
Doing his own camerawork, the director gleefully enriches the haunted-house genre with a simple but ingenious device.
Under the Radar Keeps Rollin’ Along
Highlights include a spare reworking of the 1927 musical “Show Boat” and a surprisingly touching new piece by the shock connoisseur Ann Liv Young.
How David Lynch Became an Icon of Cinema
The late director’s unique vision and the love that his persona inspires make it easy to forget how winding his path to greatness was.
Ideas
Does One Emotion Rule All Our Ethical Judgments?
When prehistoric predators abounded, the ability to perceive harm helped our ancestors survive. Some researchers wonder whether it fuels our greatest fights today.
What’s a Fact, Anyway?
Journalists put more stress on accuracy than ever before. The problem is, accuracy is a slippery idea.
Why Is the American Diet So Deadly?
A scientist tried to discredit the theory that ultra-processed foods are killing us. Instead, he overturned his own understanding of obesity.
The Inner Lives of Insects
Insects make up about forty per cent of living species, and we tend to kill them without pause. New research explores the possibility that they are sentient.
Is the TikTok Ban a Chance to Rethink the Whole Internet?
The billionaire Frank McCourt is launching a “people’s bid” to buy the app, replace its addictive algorithm, and give users greater control of their data. Is it a publicity stunt or a sincere attempt to reform the digital age?
Puzzles & Games
Take a break and play.
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