This Week’s Issue: Josh Thomas’s Comedy of Self-Diagnosis

Plus: a profile of Nathaniel Mackey; the making of “Midnight Cowboy”; and Cynthia Ozick’s new book. View in browser | Update your preferences Onward and Upward with the Arts Josh Thomas’s Comedy of Self-Diagnosis After his beloved series “Please Like Me” ended, the writer and actor decided to make a sitcom about autism. Then he wondered why. By Alex Barasch Life and Letters Nathaniel Mackey’s Long Song Listening to music with the poet whose alternative history of humankind intersects with the realities of Black life in America. By Hua Hsu A Reporter at Large Surviving the Crackdown in Xinjiang As mass detentions and surveillance dominate the lives of China’s Uyghurs and Kazakhs, a woman struggles to free herself. By Raffi Khatchadourian Books Helen Frankenthaler and the Messy Art of Life With her innovative soak-stain paintings, Frankenthaler embraced color for its own sake, animating and elevating the most elemental sensations. By Adam Gopnik Books “Midnight Cowboy” and the Remaking of Hollywood The 1969 film has become famous for being ahead of its time, but it may be most revealing as an artifact of its time. By Louis Menand Books Cynthia Ozick, Smasher of Idols In her tenth decade, Ozick finds a new perspective on envy, ambition, and the perils of blind conviction. By Giles Harvey The Current Cinema A Journey to the Center of the Earth in “Godzilla vs. Kong” Adam Wingard’s film reaffirms the franchise’s ability to waste talented actors. By Anthony Lane Comment Biden’s Jobs Plan Is Also a Climate Plan. Will It Make a Difference? The Administration has an ambitious vision for combatting global warming, but it’s only a start. By Elizabeth Kolbert On Television A New Hemingway Documentary Peeks Behind the Myth Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s film examines the burden of the author’s performance of himself. By Hilton Als 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 Insomnia: The Opera O, hundred-dollar white-noise machine. O, yoga dude named Tevin: Help me reverse twelve months of 24/7! By Henry Alford 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 This Week's Issue from The New Yorker. 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.