May 2026

Articles

• The Incredible Story of the Cartel Olympics

  A Mexican athlete said he was kidnapped and forced to compete for his life in a tournament of gangs. But was he actually playing a different game?

  McKay Coppins

• The Eighth Deadly Sin

  Humankind has devised a new form of debasement.

  James Parker

• The Feeling of Becoming Less and Less of a Person

  In Ben Lerner’s new novel, technology divides us further from one another, and ourselves.

  Nicholas Dames

• Who Is Black Comedy For?

  A new book is nostalgic for the ’90s. But the era of crossover success was not necessarily the pinnacle of Black comedic achievement.

  K. Austin Collins

• Masterpieces of the New Deal

  Critics wrote the work off as kitsch for the masses. But a set of murals celebrating Social Security—now threatened with destruction—show that such sweeping judgments went too far.

  Judith Shulevitz

• I Found It: The Best Free Restaurant Bread in America

  Thirteen thousand miles. Infinite contenders. One beautiful loaf.

  Caity Weaver

• Someday in Tehran

  The heartbreak of hoping for a democratic Iran

  Laura Secor

• An Oligarchy of Old People

  How elderly Americans amassed disproportionate wealth and power

  Idrees Kahloon

• Byzantine Room

  A poem

  Patricia Lockwood

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