This Week’s Issue: How to Build an Artificial Heart

Plus: Dexter Filkins on Biden’s Afghanistan problem; the cost of the fish-farming boom in Gambia; and Ann Patchett on decluttering. View in browser | Update your preferences Annals of Technology How to Build an Artificial Heart Millions of hearts fail each year. Why can’t we replace them? By Joshua Rothman A Reporter at Large Last Exit from Afghanistan Will peace talks with the Taliban and the prospect of an American withdrawal create a breakthrough or a collapse? By Dexter Filkins Comment Are We Finally Winning Against COVID-19? For now, with a third vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, there seem to be more ups than downs. By Amy Davidson Sorkin Letter from Gambia Fish Farming Is Feeding the Globe. What’s the Cost for Locals? In Gambia, an exploding industry has led to big economic promises, and a steep environmental price. By Ian Urbina The Current Cinema Anthony Hopkins Rules the Screen in “The Father” Florian Zeller’s adaptation of his play about old age shows Hopkins at the frightening summit of his powers. By Anthony Lane Personal History How to Practice I wanted to get rid of my possessions, because possessions stood between me and death. By Ann Patchett Books Kazuo Ishiguro Uses A.I. to Reveal Our Limits In his latest novel, the gaze of an inhuman narrator gives us a new perspective on human life. By James Wood Books When the Barbizon Gave Women Rooms of Their Own The story of N.Y.C.’s most famous women-only hotel is also a story of class and sexual politics in the twentieth century. By Casey Cep Authenticity Dept. Tallying the Lost Years for L.G.B.T. Seniors An art exhibition at a Brooklyn retirement home features twelve of the U.S.’s three million L.G.B.T. elders, many of whom fear having to go back into the closet when they enter senior housing. By Michael Schulman Newsletters Sign Up for The New Yorker’s Books & Fiction Newsletter Book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the world of literature, twice a week. Humor from The New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs Other Hygge-Like Trends to Make Your Sad Life Seem Intentional “Smurtsvin,” the practice of putting on so much hand lotion that you are unable to use your phone or computer, and more. By Susanna Wolff Cartoons From The Issue Cartoons from the Issue Drawings and drollery from this week’s magazine. You're receiving this e-mail because you signed up for . Was this e-mail forwarded to you? Sign up. Unsubscribe | Manage your e-mail preferences | Send newsletter feedback | View our Privacy Policy Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.