Murder in Malta

Ben Taub investigates. Plus: Instagram’s favorite New Yorker cartoons of 2020; a classic-toy inventor; and Taylor Swift. View in browser | Update your preferences A Reporter at Large Murder in Malta After a journalist was assassinated, her sons found clues in her unfinished work that cracked the case and brought down the government. By Ben Taub Cultural Comment Slack Is the Right Tool for the Wrong Way to Work If Slack, which improves a flawed approach to collaboration, is worth billions of dollars, imagine the value in fixing the underlying problems. By Cal Newport The New Yorker Documentary Inside the Workshop of a Classic-Toy Inventor The inventor of more than eight hundred toys explains why making playthings is a noble profession. By Ian Crouch 2020 in Review Instagram’s Favorite New Yorker Cartoons of 2020 If you, like me, need a fun-filled break from the past twelve pretty uneventful months, feast your eyes on these cartoons. By Colin Stokes Culture and More Culture Desk The Intimacy and Comfort of Taylor Swift’s “evermore” The artist’s second surprise album of the year arrives at a time when we are starved for companionship and peace. By Amanda Petrusich Personal History Remembering John le Carré: The Madness of Spies From 2008: the novelist, who died on Saturday, on how fantasies of the spy trade drove agents to delusion. By John le Carré Cover Story David Hockney’s “Hearth” The painter talks about taking inspiration from some of Europe’s great tapestries and creating the image for this week’s issue. By Françoise Mouly Georgia Postcard Asking All Georgians: Are You Seventeen and a Half? Thousands of teen-agers in the state weren’t old enough to vote in November, but will be old enough to vote in the Senate runoffs, in January. These volunteers tried to find them. By Charles Bethea Humor and Puzzles Crossword Today’s Crossword Big softy: eleven letters. By Anna Shechtman Daily Cartoon Monday, December 14th By Tim Hamilton 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.