The Radical Courage of Simone Biles

Plus: why a beloved professor was denied tenure at Harvard; Mandela’s dream for South Africa; and women in chess. View in browser | Update your preferences Wednesday, July 28, 2021 Replay The Radical Courage of Simone Biles’s Exit from the Team USA Olympic Finals Biles’s decision not to compete on Tuesday is, to many spectators, a heartbreak. It is also a welcome example of an athlete setting her own limits. By Eren Orbey Annals of Education Why Lorgia García Peña Was Denied Tenure at Harvard A decision not to retain a beloved Latinx-studies professor raised questions about the university’s commitment to students of color. By Graciela Mochkofsky Daily Comment Mandela’s Dream for South Africa Is in Ruins Following the imprisonment of Jacob Zuma, and at a time when inequality is worse than during apartheid, mob violence is threatening the country’s constitutional order. By Robin Wright Cultural Comment The Void That Critical Race Theory Was Created to Fill The movement’s architects saw the inadequacy of liberal solutions to racial injustice. Yet the term has become a lullaby by which liberals self-soothe. By Lauren Michele Jackson From the Magazine The Sporting Scene The Wait for Chess’s First Woman World Champion For years, Hou Yifan was the only woman who stood a chance against the very best. But she had her own ambitions. By Louisa Thomas Culture and More Books Anthony Veasna So Takes On Trauma, but Doesn’t Leave Out the Jokes Classics of immigrant storytelling can feel sparse and solemn. The stories in So’s “Afterparties” fill the silence, spilling over with transgressive humor and exuberant language. By Hua Hsu The New Yorker Documentary What to Make of Childhood Fears in an Anxious Age In “For Emergency Use Only,” a filmmaker revisits his old fear of nuclear contamination, and asks kids about the catastrophes weighing on their minds today. Film by Daire Collins Text by Tana Wojczuk Listening Booth The U.K. Rapper Dave Drops a Breathtaking Ten-Minute Track “Heart Attack” is the powerful capstone to his new album, “We’re All Alone in This Together.” By Sheldon Pearce From the Archive The Talk of the Town Beatrix Potter On Potter’s birthday, revisit Laurie Colwin on the “Peter Rabbit” author’s childhood sketches of fossils, fungi, and butterflies. By Laurie Colwin Humor and Games Name Drop Today’s Quiz The fewer clues you need, the more points you receive. By Liz Maynes-Aminzade Crossword Today’s Crossword Medium for Walter De Maria’s 1977 installation “The New York Earth Room”: four letters. By Anna Shechtman Daily Shouts Bad Elevator Pitches An elevator that says “OTIS” but is manufactured by Schindler. By Teddy Wayne Daily Cartoon Wednesday, July 28th By Colin Tom 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.