This Week’s Issue: The Woman Shaking Up the Diamond Industry

Plus: The last time democracy almost died, the fight to preserve African-American history, and the pitfalls and potential of the new minimalism. View in browser | Update your preferences The Future of Democracy: Read the first pieces in our yearlong exploration of democracy in America and sign up to receive alerts about new stories. A Reporter at Large The Woman Shaking Up the Diamond Industry Diamonds may not be as scarce as the industry would have people believe, but very large rough diamonds are vanishingly rare—except at one mine. In Botswana, Eira Thomas’s company has used radical new methods to find some of the biggest uncut gems in history, including one weighing seventeen hundred and fifty-eight carats. By Ed Caesar American Chronicles The Fight to Preserve African-American History Activists and preservationists are changing the kinds of places that are protected—and what it means to preserve them. By Casey Cep Profiles James Corden’s Do-Over The late-night TV host discusses fat-shaming, the intoxicating effect of fame, and “Cats,” which he still hasn’t watched. By Michael Schulman The Future of Democracy The Last Time Democracy Almost Died Learning from the upheaval of the nineteen-thirties. By Jill Lepore Comment Impeachment and the Short-Term Thinking of the G.O.P. From its relinquishing of executive oversight in the Senate to its embrace of inflammatory nativism, the Party has been perilously shortsighted. By Jelani Cobb A Critic at Large Toni Morrison’s Profound and Unrelenting Vision “The Bluest Eye,” which was published fifty years ago, cut a new path through the American literary landscape by placing black girls at the center of the story. By Hilton Als Books The Pitfalls and the Potential of the New Minimalism The mantra of “less is more” still obeys a logic of accumulation—but it hints at genuinely different ways of thinking. By Jia Tolentino Humor from The New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs Hello, 911? I’ve been lying awake reliving a two-second awkward experience I had in front of a casual acquaintance three years ago. Sure, I’ll hold. By Samantha Irby Cartoons From The Issue Cartoons from the Issue Drawings and drollery from this week’s magazine. More in The Future of Democracy The Future of Democracy What Happens When the News Is Gone? In Jones County, North Carolina, and many other places around the country, local journalism has just about dried up. By Charles Bethea The Future of Democracy The Right to Listen As citizens of a democracy, we need to hear one another. Why can’t we? By Astra Taylor 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 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.