| | | In today’s edition, Rebecca Mead explores how cats went from alley dwellers to beloved family members. And, exclusively for newsletter readers, the cartoon editor Emma Allen shares her favorite feline funnies from the archive, and the staff writer Vinson Cunningham gives his take on last night’s Game One of the N.B.A. Finals. Plus:
• Fighting Trump on the beaches
• How liberals talk about children
• An ode to the record store | | | | How cats came in from the alley and took up their place at the hearth.  Art work by Louis Wain / © Peter & Dawn Cope Collection / Mary Evans Picture Library At the turn of the twentieth century, the British illustrator Louis Wain, who is thought to have struggled with schizophrenia, created anthropomorphized cats that were heralds of modernity, even as many of their feral cousins prowled along the Thames. Rebecca Mead considers his curious career and what it tells us about our feline friends. Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » | | | |  | If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up. | | | | Hooper Dept. | | The staff writer Vinson Cunningham on the defining moments of last night’s opening game of the N.B.A. Finals.  Photograph by Maddie Meyer / Getty Sometimes big questions get quick answers. Kristaps Porzingis—the tall, skilled, often injured Latvian, a kind of skeleton key for the full destructive powers of his latest team, the Boston Celtics—has been a site of mystery for the past few weeks of the N.B.A. playoffs. The litany of uncertainties around the forward, who hadn’t played since the end of April, has gone something like this: Is he still hurt? If so, how hurt? If not, how quickly can he shake off the rust of recovery? Last night, in the first quarter of the Celtics’ match against the Dallas Mavericks, in Game One of the N.B.A. Finals, Porzingis ventured a response. He came off the bench mid-quarter, looking loose and bouncy and hungry to make his mark. He shot over the heads of his defenders near the foul line—he always looks too big for the player who is guarding him—blocked shots at the rim without seeming to leave the ground, and lobbed joyful three-pointers like a kid in the park. With a little more than a minute left in that first period, Porzingis loped across half-court and received a little scoop pass from the Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, well behind the three-point line. He shot the ball automatically, an easeful impulse. It popped through the net, and the crowd went crazy. Porzingis got back on defense, smiling hard, looking publicly relaxed and privately relieved. He’d quieted his own doubts, if not everyone else’s. For more: Read Louisa Thomas on the Celtics’ critics and how the Mavs’ Luka Dončić broke the mold. | | | | | | | Our Columnists | Fault Lines How Liberals Talk About ChildrenMany left-leaning, middle-class Americans speak of kids as though they are impositions, or means to an end. By Jay Caspian Kang | | Letter from Biden’s Washington Fighting Trump on the BeachesBiden’s fiery D Day speech in Normandy warns against the ex-President’s isolationism, while Trump is back home, targeting “the enemy within.” By Susan B. Glasser | | | | | Culture Dept. |  The Front Row “Flipside” Is a Treasure Trove of Music and MemoryChris Wilcha’s documentary explores life, love, and art through his connection to a venerable record store. By Richard Brody | | | | |  | Final day! Enjoy 20% off most items in The New Yorker Store, including T-shirts, baseball caps, and beach towels, until midnight E.T. Shop the sale » | | | | | Nine-Laughs Dept. | | The New Yorker’s cartoon editor, Emma Allen, shares her favorite cat cartoons from the magazine’s archive. Man vs. Nature. Cowboys vs. Aliens. Nix v. Hedden (in which the Supreme Court ruled, in 1893, that tomatoes should be classified as vegetables rather than fruits). These are just some of the biggest showdowns in recorded history. But most fundamental, of course, is Cats vs. Dogs, a battle for the ages which this magazine has long and dutifully chronicled in its cartoons. Whereas dogs are often depicted as lovable, loyal doofuses, cartoon cats are subjected to more scathing satirical takes. They are frequently drawn acting lazy, conniving, destructive, and only begrudgingly putting up with their human housemates for the sake of as many square meals as they can finagle. And yet, it is clear that a number of cartoonists have certain feline affinities. I must admit, I myself live with a monstrous member of the Felidae family named Dante. So, here are just a few not-so-catty cat cartoons to accompany Rebecca Mead’s enlightening history of the house cat. And yes, dog people, this means war.  | | | | | | | | Fun & Games Dept. |  Daily Cartoon Friday, June 7th By Mary Lawton |  Mini Crossword A Bite-sized Puzzle “Search Party” actress Shawkat: four letters. By Mollie Cowger | | | | | | P.S. Pat Sajak, who has hosted “Wheel of Fortune” for the past forty-one years, will make his final appearance as master of ceremonies in an episode airing tonight. In 2020, David Gilbert wrote about his experience as a contestant on the show: “I’m on the Sony lot, in a studio, and it’s freezing cold. But I am thankful for this temperature. My skin rests atop a roiling sea of sweat.” | | | | | | | |
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