This Week’s Issue: The Wait for a Woman Chess Champion

Plus: New York's dreamy, disorienting reopening; Jill Lepore on Facebook's dark side; and the future of affirmative action.  View in browser | Update your preferences     The Sporting Scene Hou Yifan and the Wait for Chess's First Woman World Champion For years, Hou was the only woman who stood a chance against the very best. But she had her own ambitions. By Louisa Thomas Listen to this story Have a world-class narrator read this to you.     Dept. of Returns New York's Dreamy, Disorienting Reopening Matthew Pillsbury's long-exposure photographs capture the return of crowds after COVID lockdown. As communal city life comes back, can we find one another? By Matthew Pillsbury     Annals of Justice Can Affirmative Action Survive? The policy has made diversity possible. Now, after decades of debate, the Supreme Court is poised to decide its fate. By Nicholas Lemann     A Critic at Large Facebook's Broken Vows How the company's pledge to bring the world together wound up pulling us apart. By Jill Lepore     Comment The Spyware Threat to Journalists In this gathering age of digital autocracy, it is hard to avoid the impression that the dictators are winning. By Steve Coll     Personal History Flight Plan Learning to live with a pilot. By Ann Patchett     Podcast Dept. The Post-Dirtbag Left For years, "Chapo Trap House" and other podcasts have paired anti-capitalist ideas with the rhetorical style of social media. Is a new form emerging? By Andrew Marantz     Books Anthony Veasna So Takes On Trauma, but Doesn't Leave Out the Jokes So's "Afterparties" explores the gulf between history-haunted parents and their restless children. By Hua Hsu     On Television The Brilliant, Biting Social Satire of "The White Lotus" Mike White's HBO tragicomedy is one of the best shows of the year. By Naomi Fry   Humor from The New Yorker     Shouts & Murmurs Trump's Club Med Among the experimental drugs tried out on the President in the COVID ward: MyPill (placebo available in twin, full, and California king) and Faucialis (weekends only). By Bill Scheft     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.