This Week’s Issue: The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution

Plus: incarceration after the coronavirus, our fever for plague movies, and the mysterious origins of eels. View in browser | Update your preferences Letter from Iran The Twilight of the Iranian Revolution For decades, Ayatollah Khamenei has professed enmity with America. Now his regime is threatened from within the country. By Dexter Filkins American Chronicles Will the Coronavirus Make Us Rethink Mass Incarceration? Community groups have pointed out the social costs of the prison system for decades. Now the pandemic has exposed its public-health risks. By Sarah Stillman Profiles Phoebe Bridgers’s Frank, Anxious Music Her new album, “Punisher,” was crafted with foresight and intention, but the absurdity of the world in which it’s being released requires a certain amount of disengagement. By Amanda Petrusich Annals of Ideas The Rogue Experimenters Community labs want to make everything from insulin to prostheses. Will traditional scientists accept their efforts? By Margaret Talbot Comment What Donald Trump Shares with Joseph McCarthy The President’s capacity to create confusion and turmoil is emerging as the mainstay of his reëlection campaign. By David Remnick A Critic at Large Our Fever for Plague Movies Hollywood loves nothing more than killing off humanity, but watching contagion films feels different now. By Anthony Lane Books Is Capitalism Racist? A scholar depicts white supremacy as the economic engine of American history. By Nicholas Lemann Books Where Do Eels Come From? There is much to be learned from how little we know about them. By Brooke Jarvis Newsletters Sign Up for the New Yorker Recommends Newsletter Discover what our staff is reading, watching, and listening to each week. Humor from The New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs Everyday Parenting Tips It may be futile to try to stop your kids from seeing monsters altogether. After all, they are on the front page of the Times every day, usually striking a menacing pose. By Simon Rich Cartoons From The Issue Cartoons from the Issue Drawings and drollery from this week’s magazine. This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To ensure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com. For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.