Biden and the True Costs of Unity

Plus: Amanda Gorman’s stunning vision of democracy, the cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline, and who gets to be a “real” New Yorker. View in browser | Update your preferences Letter from Biden's Washington Joe Biden’s Love Letter to the Truth In his Inaugural Address, the new President tried something different: levelling with the American people. By Susan B. Glasser Daily Comment “A Broken Land”: Biden and the True Costs of Unity In launching his Presidency with the pursuit of unity, Biden will immediately face the hard political calculations of making it concrete. By Evan Osnos Our Columnists Amanda Gorman’s Inaugural Poem Is a Stunning Vision of Democracy “But while democracy can be periodically delayed / it can never be permanently defeated.” By Masha Gessen Daily Comment Trump Wanted a Big Sendoff—and Didn’t Get It The Republican officials who usually act as extras at his rallies were attending the swearing-in of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris at the Capitol, where the real party was happening. By Amy Davidson Sorkin Cultural Comment The Best Inaugural Music Moments Music is sometimes presented as a kind of impartial panacea. That’s a lot to ask of art, but it’s still a nice fantasy to indulge. By Amanda Petrusich Daily Comment The Cancellation of the Keystone Pipeline Is a Landmark in the Climate Fight Biden has almost certainly settled one of this country’s greatest environmental battles. By Bill McKibben Daily Comment Can the COVID-19 Vaccine Beat the Proliferation of New Virus Mutations? Stopping transmission blocks the opportunity for mutation. Vaccination is the only means we have of standing in the virus’s way. By Lawrence Wright Culture and More Cultural Comment Andrew Yang, Fran Lebowitz, and Who Gets to Be a “Real” New Yorker You have to make it at least ten years, the thinking goes, to prove that you won’t wimp out. But, even then, the goalposts move. By Michael Schulman Books Can We See Past the Myth of the Himalaya? The history of the high-altitude landscape is more complicated, and more turbulent, than adventure tales can capture. By Akash Kapur Humor from The New Yorker Daily Shouts The N.B.A.’s New COVID-19 Protocol In an effort to reduce unnecessary exposure, we’re just gonna go ahead and count all unplayed Knicks games as losses. By Harris Mayersohn Daily Cartoon Thursday, January 21st By Peter Kuper 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.