| | | | “Putting out too many fires contributes to the creation of even bigger blazes: fire ecologists call this the ‘fire paradox.’ ” The journalist M. R. O’Connor embedded as a firefighter this past summer, and faced the Dixie Fire, the largest single fire in California’s history. In recent years, she reports, wildfires have increased in both intensity and complexity. Federal wildland firefighters are directed to prioritize fire suppression, so ninety-eight per cent of all wildfires in America are extinguished before they become large. “But preventing fuels from burning today preserves them to burn tomorrow,” O’Connor writes. As one former firefighter said, “The generations before us had screwed up, they were suppressing fires so hard.” The result is an America that is “both burning and fire-starved”—and firefighters are questioning their role in creating and combatting these fires. One former hotshot said she had lost several colleagues to accidents, suicide, and cancer. Another former firefighter, who suffered from trauma after seventeen years with the U.S. Forest Service, wrote, in his resignation letter, “I think wildland firefighting is dangerous and crazy and PTSD is a normal reaction from the human brain.” “The deeper we went, the hotter the ground became. . . . eventually, we were dancing to relieve the discomfort,” O’Connor writes, of fighting the Dixie Fire. “We were standing on an oven.” —Jessie Li, newsletter editor Read M. R. O’Connor’s masterly essay in this week’s issue, “What It’s Like to Fight a Megafire.” O’Connor has also written about a day in the life of a tree; how animals keep from getting lost; and the Greenland shark, the longest-living vertebrate on earth. | | | | From the News Desk | News Desk What Does an At-Home Abortion Look Like in 2021?The practice is often assumed to be dangerous, but Abigail Aiken’s data suggest that ordering abortion pills online, and inducing a miscarriage at home, is as safe as going to a clinic. By Lizzie Widdicombe | | Daily Comment Does Xi Jinping’s Seizure of History Threaten His Future?The struggles of the first century of Communist Party rule are being buried by the need to cohere around what Xi calls “the great rejuvenation” of China. By Evan Osnos | | The Sporting Scene The Selfish Individualism of Aaron RodgersThe Green Bay quarterback’s semi-rebellious attitude once seemed almost charming. But his attitude toward the N.F.L.’s vaccine mandate has exposed his self-absorption. By Louisa Thomas | | Politics and More Podcast Politics and Justice at the Kyle Rittenhouse TrialA Wisconsin jury considers “the most divisive case in the country.” | | | | | Editor’s Pick |  Photo Booth Philip Montgomery’s Unblinking Portrait of an America in CrisisFor nearly a decade, the photographer has been chronicling the country’s historic struggles, with an intimacy that can be achieved only by getting uncomfortably close. By Patrick Radden Keefe | | | | | Dept. of Delight | |  - Looking for weekend reading? Our Briefly Noted book reviews include Elizabeth Strout’s new book, “Oh William!,” the third in her series of Lucy Barton novels; a history of medieval illuminated manuscripts; and more.
| | | | Fun & Games Dept. |  Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz The fewer clues you need, the more points you receive. By Liz Maynes-Aminzade |  Daily Cartoon Thursday, November 11th By Ali Solomon | |  Daily Shouts Welcome to Your Decided-Not-to-Have-a-Baby Shower! It’s going to be a challenging first couple years as you power through the remainder of your thirties with people constantly asking when you’re going to procreate. By Elizabeth Zephyrine McDonough |  Daily Shouts Questions My Tarot Cards Refuse to Answer “Will my neighbor ever get the hint?,” “Why does the M.T.A. schedule feel like a personal attack?,” and other imponderables. By Sanika Phawde | | | | | | P.S. Fyodor Dostoyevsky was born on this day in 1821. His novel “The Brothers Karamazov” was translated in 1990 by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, who have since become the “best-selling and perhaps the most authoritative translators of Russian prose” in modern times. In 2005, David Remnick interviewed the husband-and-wife duo, who recalled the initial press reaction to their translation: “In the Wichita Eagle, we got an amazing full-page review with the headline ‘ “KARAMAZOV” still leads creative way,’ ” Pevear said. “The only problem is that they used a photograph of Tolstoy.” | | | | Today’s newsletter was written by Jessie Li. | | | | | | | |
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