How to Spot a Military Impostor

Plus: Trump collides with the world of baseball; the West Coast wildfires; and Rita Indiana. View in browser | Update your preferences Annals of Justice How to Spot a Military Impostor The detectives who investigate fake stories of military service use many tools, including shame. By Rachel Monroe The Political Scene Trump Collides with the World of Baseball Should fans care that an owner of the Chicago Cubs is also the chief fund-raiser for Donald Trump? By Alex Kotlowitz Annals of a Warming Planet The West Coast Wildfires Are Apocalypse, Again In a year of lost normality, the fires’ outlandish size and reach signal that normal is gone for good. Yet these fires are not the end of the world. By Michelle Nijhuis PAID POST The debut novel from the award-winning author of “Redeployment” “[A] compact epic of a novel…Horrifying and refreshing, challenging us to reflect not just on the destruction of our own national institutions but also on the ugly and ongoing consequences of American power abroad.” –Los Angeles Times A Critic at Large A Critic at Large Rita Indiana’s Songs for the Apocalypse On her new album, the Dominican musician and novelist transforms this miserable moment into something defiant and danceable. By Daniel Alarcón Culture and More The Front Row The Wunderkind Iranian Director Who Stopped Making Films Samira Makhmalbaf should have joined other rising filmmakers in being considered a modern master. Instead, she hasn’t released a movie in more than a decade. By Richard Brody Cultural Comment Pushed to the Edge by “Beau Travail” Our most potent aesthetic experiences are sometimes those for which we are least prepared. By Alex Ross Judging a Book by Its Cover Who Isn’t a Sucker for a Foldout? The National Book Foundation’s Lisa Lucas and two fellow-jurors gather to discuss the fifty best-designed books of the year. By Katy Waldman Humor from The New Yorker Daily Shouts Ask Kim Kierkegaardashian: Domestic Jungle Is Where the Heart Is Like me, you have the means to fly business class on Air Escape. So why stay in the wildfire-smoking-section, COVID-19-class seats of United States Airlines 2020? By Kim Kierkegaardashian Daily Cartoon Tuesday, October 20th By Zoe Si This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To insure 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.