Tim Walz and J. D. Vance’s Battle of the Dads

Plus: Doug Emhoff’s Gen X energy; what rats teach us about ourselves; and Matt Walsh’s attempt to make a right-wing “Borat.” View in browser | Update your preferences Tuesday, October 1, 2024 In today’s newsletter, the daddy issues at the center of tonight’s Vice-Presidential debate, and then: • Why Doug Emhoff is suited for this moment • What rats teach us about humans • Matt Walsh’s attempt to make a right-wing “Borat” Molly Fischer Staff writer Illustration by Adam Maida; Source photographs from Getty I used to work in women’s media, so it always feels like a novelty for me to think about gender in terms of what’s going on with men—which is probably what brought me to a watch party for last month’s Presidential debate hosted by a group called Dads for Kamala. Since July, the Dads have been organizing phone banks and transporting volunteers to swing states. The crowd they convened at a Brooklyn beer garden to watch Harris and Trump seemed split fairly evenly between men and women, but it got me wondering about fatherhood as a political archetype, which I wrote about for today. It’s a subject that feels particularly salient heading into tonight’s Vice-Presidential debate. J. D. Vance and Tim Walz have both made parenthood central to their identity as public figures—Walz with his brand of dad-joke affability, Vance with his procreative zeal and scorn for the childless. When the two candidates take the stage in New York, they’ll give voters a chance to consider just what dads are for in 2024. Read “Tim Walz and J. D. Vance’s Battle of the Dads” Follow the Debate Live: Join our writers Jessica Winter, Vinson Cunningham, and Clare Malone starting at 9 P.M. E.T. as they offer live analysis of the V.P. debate. The Lede Reporting and commentary on what you need to know today. Doug Emhoff Takes His Gen X Energy on the Road Photograph by Carlos Kosienski / AP On the trail, the Second Gentleman has made love for music, and for his wife, look like a campaign in itself. “He comes across as a regular guy—an intellectual-property-lawyer regular guy, not a Tim Walz regular guy—and he’s warm and intelligent, comfortable in his role,” Sarah Larson reports. Editor’s Pick Books The Rat Studies that Foretold a Nightmarish Human Future At first, scientists just wanted to figure out the best way to kill these pests. Then they decided that studying rat society could reveal the future of our own. By Elizabeth Kolbert Joshua Rothman Does Anyone Really Know You? Illustration by Josie Norton This question, one that arises in both “Anna Karenina” and “Eleanor Rigby,” seems to reflect an innate desire to be known. But, Joshua Rothman observes, perhaps we should be asking something else. “Other people help us to know ourselves, working with us to create a shared idea of who we are,” he writes. “So, instead of asking whether we are known, it may be more fruitful to ask whether we’ve arrived, in collaboration with people we care about, at a conception of ourselves that we recognize.” Read the column » Open Questions publishes every Tuesday. If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up. Culture Dept. On Television Is Matt Walsh Trying to Make “Am I Racist?” the “Borat” of the Right? In his work with the Daily Wire and in a new movie, the conservative podcaster and activist tries to expose the hypocrisies of the left. By Vinson Cunningham The Art World Suzanne Jackson’s Natural World The artist captures the ephemeral and transformative power of light. By Hilton Als Fun & Games Dept. Crossword A Moderately Challenging Puzzle Shakespeare contemporary who contributed prefatory verses to the First Folio: six letters. By Patrick Berry Daily Cartoon Tuesday, October 1st By Tom Toro Name Drop: Can you guess the identity of a notable person—contemporary or historical—in six clues? Play a quiz from our archive » P.S. Fatherhood hasn’t always been central to the identity of American politicians. In the nineties, when men made up an even larger majority of Congress, Speaker Newt Gingrich established an advisory committee to help deal with the “serious absentee-parent problem among legislators.” The committee recommended, as Betsy Dance recounted at the time, “a system of separate phone lines exclusively for family use, a pen-pal for congressional children, and a regular newsletter full of tips on how to stay in touch.” 💌 What did you think of today’s newsletter? Let us know. If you like the daily newsletter, browse more New Yorker newsletters. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for the daily newsletter from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2024. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.