This Week’s Issue: The Future of Selective Admissions

Plus: Masha Gessen on the twilight zone of Russian state TV; David Remnick on Volodymyr Zelensky; and Daniel Alarcón on COVID in Guayaquil. View in browser | Update your preferences Get the in-depth analysis and on-the-ground reporting you need to understand the war in Ukraine. Subscribe today » Annals of Education What Happens When an Élite Public School Becomes Open to All? After the legendarily competitive Lowell High School dropped selective admissions, new challenges—and new opportunities—arose. By Nathan Heller Dispatch Inside Kyiv’s Metro, a Citywide Bomb Shelter Across Ukraine, especially in the cities where Russia’s onslaught has been particularly intense, underground spaces have become precious. By Joshua Yaffa Comment Volodymyr Zelensky Leads the Defense of Ukraine with His Voice At the most consequential hour in Europe since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a comedian has assumed the role of Winston Churchill. By David Remnick Dispatch The War That Russians Do Not See A majority of people in Russia get their news from state television, which depicts their country not as the aggressor in Ukraine but as a victim of the West. By Masha Gessen Letter from Ecuador A Pandemic Tragedy in Guayaquil How Ecuador’s largest city endured one of the world’s most lethal outbreaks of COVID-19. By Daniel Alarcón American Chronicles Did George Washington Have an Enslaved Son? West Ford’s descendants want to prove his parentage—and save the freedmen’s village he founded. By Jill Abramson The Control of Nature The Great American Antler Boom Every spring, shed hunters head to the woods looking for deer and elk antlers that may fetch thousands of dollars, or social-media fame. By Abe Streep The Current Cinema “The Batman” Is a Waste of Robert Pattinson Matt Reeves’s movie pits the latest actor to don the Batsuit against an all-star array of villains, but self-seriousness crowds out much chance of fun. By Anthony Lane Pop Music The Youthful Melancholy of the Lemonheads “It’s a Shame About Ray,” which is being reissued this month, may be a perfect record—an exquisitely self-contained work of idleness, hunger, and pathos. By Amanda Petrusich Newsletters Sign Up for The New Yorker’s Crossword-Puzzle Newsletter Never miss another New Yorker crossword again. Humor from The New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs So You’ve Forgotten How to Make Small Talk What you said: Cool hors d’œuvres! What they heard: I love Shelley Duvall and my anti-embolism stockings. By Henry Alford 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 2022. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.