Joan Didion’s Lasting Insights

Plus: the best cookbooks of the year; movies to watch on Christmas; and Tavi Gevinson on singing Sondheim. View in browser | Update your preferences Thursday, December 23, 2021 A Critic at Large What We Get Wrong About Joan Didion Didion, who has died, at eighty-seven, has been canonized for impeccable style, but her real insights were about what holds society together, or tears it apart. By Nathan Heller Q. & A. Pramila Jayapal on the Fate of the Build Back Better Act The chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on the difficulty of negotiating with Joe Manchin, and a “two-track strategy” for moving forward. By Isaac Chotiner The Year in Review 2021 in Review The Best Cookbooks of the Year Ten books that pulled me off the sofa and into the kitchen in 2021. By Helen Rosner 2021 in Review The Year the Art Scene Rebounded and Expanded New York’s art world saw legacy-changing donations to museums and a seismic shift in Tribeca’s gallery scene. By Andrea K. Scott Culture and More Culture Desk Three Christmastime Movies to Regift to Others “Macbeth,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” and “The Matrix Resurrections,” reviewed. By Anthony Lane Culture Desk The Special Panic of Singing Sondheim Performing in the new revival of “Assassins,” I’ve become acquainted with the particular nerves that singing Stephen Sondheim’s complex songs can inspire. By Tavi Gevinson Books Modernism’s Forgotten Mystic In her short, tumultuous life, Mary Butts produced work admired by Bryher, Marianne Moore, and John Ashbery. Why isn’t she better known? By Merve Emre From the Cartoons & Puzzles Issue Puzzles & Games Dept. Abstract New York Can you identify the familiar New York City sights depicted in these closeup photographs? By Jason Fulford and Tamara Shopsin Sketchpad Tips for a More Sustainable Holiday Consider swapping your store-bought goose for a waterfowl you can source from your local park! By Emily Flake Humor and Games Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Will Nediger Daily Shouts “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and Five Other Things I’m Sick of Hearing Yes, I do want a lot for Christmas, Mariah! By Meghana Indurti and Asia Martin Daily Cartoon Thursday, December 23rd By Kim Warp 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.