This Week’s Issue: The Baby Broker Who Wrecked Families

Plus: Paul McCartney on writing "Eleanor Rigby"; a Black Communist's disappearance in Stalin's Russia; and MasterClass and the allure of expertise.  View in browser | Update your preferences     A Reporter at Large How an Adoption Broker Cashed In on Prospective Parents' Dreams In just a few years, a Michigan woman took in millions of dollars, faking adoptions and ruining families' lives along the way. By Sheelah Kolhatkar Listen to this story Have a world-class narrator read this to you.     Letter from Moscow A Black Communist's Disappearance in Stalin's Russia What happened to Lovett Fort-Whiteman, the only known African American to die in the Gulag? By Joshua Yaffa     Personal History Writing "Eleanor Rigby" How one of the Beatles' greatest songs came to be. By Paul McCartney     American Chronicles Can MasterClass Teach You Everything? Studies suggest that it takes at least a decade to achieve real expertise. The company promises transformation in a few hours. By Tad Friend     Books The Miracle of Stephen Crane Born after the Civil War, he turned himself into its most powerful witness—and modernized the American novel. By Adam Gopnik     Comment The G.O.P.'s Race to Out-Trump the Trumpists The midterm elections are approaching, and the Republican Party is heading into them with the former President as its leader. By Amy Davidson Sorkin     On Television The News, According to Charlamagne tha God and Jon Stewart A shock jock joins the commentariat as a semi-serious race whisperer; a satirist turns sage. By Doreen St. Félix     The Art World "Greater New York" Confirms Rather Than Surprises MOMA PS1's survey show of New York artists could use a watchword related to "avant-garde"—perhaps whatever the French for "sideways-garde" might be. By Peter Schjeldahl     Books The Many Wars of Pat Barker Celebrated for her First World War trilogy, Barker has been reimagining the Trojan War through the eyes of its female victims. But what happens when gritty realism meets myth? By Daniel Mendelsohn   Humor from The New Yorker     Shouts & Murmurs How to Care for Your Bigfoot: A Parents' Guide DO invest in a good pair of clown shoes. By Amanda Lehr     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.