| | | | | Other Western democracies have been roiled by the use of spyware to target political opponents, activists, journalists, and other vulnerable groups. Could it happen here?  Illustration by Nicholas Konrad Ronan Farrow, who has reported extensively on how political leaders have tracked their citizens, details the coming threats that Americans may face, as Donald Trump and his Administration will soon decide whether to curtail or expand the U.S. government’s use of “increasingly cheap and accessible” surveillance technology. “It’s just so evident—the impending disaster,” an expert on the intersection of privacy and tech explains to Farrow. “You may believe yourself not to be in one of the vulnerable categories, but you won’t know if you’ve ended up on a list for some reason or your loved ones have. Every single person should be worried.” | | | | | The Lede | Reporting and commentary on what you need to know today.  Photograph by Dakota Santiago / NYT / Redux Maps of recent fires in the East Coast region resemble California in August, with hundreds of red dots. The current drought is adding to the threat; as a professional forester in New Jersey explains, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such perfect conditions for fire,” M. R. O’Connor reports on the past and future of blazes in a densely populated region that’s grown unaccustomed to reckoning with fires. Read the story » | | | | | Our journalism relies on your support. If you believe in fearless, fair, and fact-checked reporting, please subscribe today. | | | | | | Editor’s Picks |  Letter from India Should a Country Speak a Single Language?In India, one of the world’s most polyglot countries, the government wants more than a billion people to embrace Hindi. One scholar thinks that would be a loss. By Samanth Subramanian | | | | | Under Review The Complex Politics of Tribal EnrollmentHow did the U.S. government become involved in “adjudicating Indianness”? By Rachel Monroe | | Q. & A. How Trump Could Change the Trajectory of the War in UkraineAny deal will likely be favorable to the Russians, though the clock on Putin’s ability to sustain a wartime economy may be running out. By Isaac Chotiner | | | | |  | In the News: Jose Ibarra was found guilty of murder today in Georgia, for the killing of Laken Riley, a twenty-two-year-old nursing student. In October, David D. Kirkpatrick wrote about how the Trump campaign had used Riley’s death to sell its hard-line anti-immigrant message to voters. | | | | Kyle Chayka | |  Illustration by Ariel Davis The “cozy gaming” trend—ambient lighting, comfortable chair, soothing objects nearby—can be traced back to the COVID pandemic, and recently it’s become not just a social-media genre but a corresponding life style, spreading to all areas of tech. “Social media in its original form reflected an urge to connect with other people living their lives somewhere else in the real world,” Kyle Chayka writes. “The coziness trend suggests that the Internet and artificial intelligence can lead us ever inward.” Read the column » Infinite Scroll publishes every Wednesday. | | | |  | If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it. Was it forwarded to you? Sign up. | | | | Fun & Games Dept. |  Crossword A Beginner-Friendly Puzzle Cooking-competition show featuring Tom Colicchio as a judge: seven letters. By Robyn Weintraub |  Daily Cartoon Wednesday, November 20th By Benjamin Schwartz | | | | |  | 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. Donald Trump has named Mehmet Oz as his pick for administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In 2016, ahead of the election, Trump visited Dr. Oz’s television show for what Michael Specter called a “Potemkin consultation,” in which the surgeon performed a weirdly perfunctory evaluation of Trump’s health. “They clearly deserve each other,” Specter noted of the pair, “but I am not quite sure the rest of us do.” 🩹 | | | | Today’s newsletter was written by Ian Crouch. | | | | | | | |
