The Year in Stupidity

Plus: Lessons from the U.K. election, Greta Thunberg’s pure spirit, and the mesmerizing chaos of “Uncut Gems.” View in browser | Update your preferences 2019 in Review The Year in Stupidity If we are forced to suffer fools, we can at least have some laffs in the process. By Naomi Fry In the News Our Columnists What Are the Real Lessons of the U.K. Election for 2020? Despite strong voter support of the Labour Party’s policy proposals, Jeremy Corbyn’s wishy-washy leadership during Brexit led Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party to victory. By John Cassidy Q. & A. How Boris Johnson’s Brexit Won David Runciman, a professor of politics at Cambridge University, analyzes the election results and discusses their lessons for center-left parties around the world. By Isaac Chotiner News Desk The Pure Spirit of Greta Thunberg Is the Perfect Antidote to Donald Trump She is committed to the foremost emergency of our time, to the science behind it, and to the people who are working every day to try to rapidly change our energy systems and consumption patterns. By Carolyn Kormann Politics and More Podcast Revelations About the Forever War in Afghanistan Dexter Filkins joins Dorothy Wickenden to discuss the recently released “secret history” of the war in Afghanistan. PAID POST THE FIFTH RISK by MICHAEL LEWIS is now in paperback “An important and timely story, one that all of us who pay for, care about, and want government to work should hear.” —NPR Culture and More The Front Row The Mesmerizing Chaos of “Uncut Gems” The film, made by the Safdie brothers, jitters and skitters and lurches and hurtles with the desperate energy of its main character, played by Adam Sandler. By Richard Brody 2019 in Review Notable Performances of 2019 and of the Decade It has been a chaotically great decade for new music. By Alex Ross The Theatre Women’s Worlds in “Jagged Little Pill” and “Fefu and Her Friends” A new musical inspired by Alanis Morissette’s seminal album explores women’s inner lives and imperilled freedom, and a revival rips away the artifice that often pillows our notions of theatre. By Vinson Cunningham Humor and Puzzles Daily Shouts Things People Think My Girlfriend and I Are Before Realizing We’re Lesbians Sisters who look nothing alike? Escaped nuns? Tina Fey and Amy Poehler? By Taryn Englehart Puzzles and Games Dept. The Weekend Crossword “Glamazon” recording artist: six letters. By Aimee Lucido Sign up for more newsletters from The New Yorker. Visit The New Yorker shop. Question about your subscription? Contact Customer Care. New Yorker digital subscribers get unlimited access to everything on newyorker.com. Log in to your account here. We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please send your thoughts and suggestions to TNYinbox@newyorker.com. This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, NewYorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your address book. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2019. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.