Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare

Plus: Greg Abbott’s attempt to transform Texas; experiments in communal living; and new fiction from Sam Lipsyte. View in browser | Update your preferences Saturday, July 3, 2021 Dear Reader, Since Britney Spears was a teen-ager, she has been one of the most famous people in the world. But for more than a decade she has been denied the right to make the most basic decisions about her personal and professional life, even as she has released four albums, headlined a global tour that grossed a hundred and thirty-one million dollars, and performed for four years in a hit Las Vegas residency. In a collaboration that started as mutual fascination, Ronan Farrow, whose reporting on sexual harassment and violence earned a Pulitzer Prize, and Jia Tolentino, whose essays have been compared to the work of Joan Didion, have written a comprehensive piece about Spears’s conservatorship nightmare, relying on the voices of the people who were there when it started. And it arrives just as momentum is building for change. —David Remnick American Chronicles Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Nightmare How the pop star’s father and a team of lawyers seized control of her life—and have held on to it for thirteen years. By Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino Daily Comment Greg Abbott’s Radical Term in Texas As part of his quest for reëlection next year, the governor is turning the Lone Star State into a pro-Trump dreamscape. By Peter Slevin Our Local Correspondents New York City’s Needless Election Fiasco A bungled vote-counting procedure brought national attention to the city’s long history of poor election administration. By Eric Lach The New Yorker Radio Hour On Britney Spears’s Conservatorship Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino tell the story of how the prominent pop star wound up in this situation. With David Remnick Letter from the U.K. Enjoying the Plotless Fever Dream of Euro 2020 With COVID on the rise again in Europe, fans pack the stands for shockingly good soccer matches. By Sam Knight From the Magazine American Chronicles In a Divided Country, Communal Living Redefines Togetherness The traditional home is under renovation. Can people find meaning in groups? By Nathan Heller Culture and More Infinite Scroll Great Jones Cookware and the Illusion of the Millennial Aesthetic Can a company that loses all of its staff still manufacture a sense of community? By Kyle Chayka Fiction “My Apology” “My apology, Leffler informs me, is tone-deaf and insufficient.” By Sam Lipsyte This Week in Fiction Sam Lipsyte on the Madness of Workplaces The author discusses “My Apology,” his story from the latest issue of the magazine. By Willing Davidson Page-Turner Watch Highlights from “Words of Desire” Three acclaimed authors discuss what makes for good writing about sex. By The New Yorker Humor and Puzzles Daily Shouts My Stress Dreams During the Pandemic Parents showing up without masks on, and more. By Yao Xiao Crossword The Weekend Puzzle A lightly challenging puzzle. By Robyn Weintraub You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily 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.