Crossword Puzzles, Anorexia, and the Search for Order

Plus: the N.R.A. chief’s misleading testimony about Caribbean yacht trips; Biden’s broken promise to separated families; and the best happy and sad TV shows of the year. View in browser | Update your preferences Wednesday, December 22, 2021 Personal History Escaping Into the Crossword Puzzle If, by the dumb logic of my eating disorder, I was losing something special about myself by gaining weight, I was bolstering my self-esteem by creating crosswords, something I knew to be difficult, precocious, and exceptional. By Anna Shechtman News Desk Wayne LaPierre’s Misleading Testimony About Free Yacht Trips in the Bahamas Documents and accounts of former staffers could strengthen the New York attorney general’s lawsuit to dissolve the N.R.A. By Mike Spies Daily Comment Pope Francis Is Still Trying to Call Attention to the Migrant Crisis World leaders have drawn together to combat climate change and COVID, Francis noted, but little has been done to help migrants. By Paul Elie Personal History China Cannot Silence Me Speaking of the crimes committed against my family and other Uyghurs in Xinjiang has sparked a surprising reaction. By Nyrola Elimä News Desk Why Biden Refused to Pay Restitution to Families Separated at the Border White House officials decided that a settlement had become a political liability. By Jonathan Blitzer The Year in Review 2021 in Review The Best Feel-Good and Feel-Bad TV Some of these series relaxed me, made me laugh, or made life feel a little dumber for an evening. The others reminded me of how shitty things were. By Naomi Fry 2021 in Review Restaurants We Loved Despite the hardships of last year and the uncertainties of this one, new culinary pleasures were myriad as New York City reopened. By Shauna Lyon 2021 in Review My Thirty Favorite Albums As I ventured back into the world during the past year, trying to reëstablish old routines, I gravitated toward music that seemed to synthesize the soft pandemonium around me. By Sheldon Pearce The New Yorker Documentary Peacebuilding Through Jokes in “Reckoning with Laughter” Amber Fares’s film follows the Israeli comedian Noam Shuster as her provocative comedy tour is upended by the pandemic. Film by Amber Fares Text by Gili Ostfield Humor and Games Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Will Nediger Daily Cartoon Wednesday, December 22nd By Asher Perlman Crossword A Moderately Challenging Puzzle Protective hair style popularized by Janet Jackson: nine letters. By Anna Shechtman Daily Shouts The Twelve Days of Supply-Chain Christmas Problems My pear tree and partridge arrive separately, weeks apart, and require assembly. By Eli Grober You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for The Daily from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2021. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.