This Week’s Issue: LARPing Goes to Disney World

More from the Travel Issue: William Finnegan on big-wave surfing; Jennifer Gonnerman on unionizing flight attendants; and Jill Lepore on bicycles. View in browser | Update your preferences Monday, May 23, 2022 Dept. of Gaming LARPing Goes to Disney World On a “Star Wars” spaceship, the company has taken live-action role-play to a lavish extreme. Guests spend days eating, scheming, and assembling lightsabres in character. By Neima Jahromi Cover Story “Open Vistas” For the cover of the Travel Issue, the artist Cannaday Chapman visits New Orleans. By Françoise Mouly Reporting and Commentary The Sporting Scene Kai Lenny Surfs the Unsurfable The big-wave surfer tackles some of the most fearsome swells on the planet. On the surface, it looks like he’s just having fun. By William Finnegan Profiles Flight Attendants Fighting Back Sara Nelson, the head of the flight attendants’ union, leads her members through turbulent times and mounts a major organizing drive at Delta. By Jennifer Gonnerman Letter from Vichy Seeking a Cure in France’s Waters Can three weeks of hydrotherapy and enforced leisure fix what ails us? By Lauren Collins Comment A Consequential Gun Ruling After the Buffalo Massacre The racist killings showed the horror of firearms; the Supreme Court may be about to make the problem worse. By Amy Davidson Sorkin The Critics Books Bicycles Have Evolved. Have We? From the velocipede to the ten-speed, biking innovations brought riders freedom. But in a world built for cars, life behind handlebars is both charmed and dangerous. By Jill Lepore The Theatre Mottled Morals and a Fight for Justice in “Golden Shield” Anchuli Felicia King’s play reimagines a lawsuit in defense of Chinese dissidents. By Alexandra Schwartz Books Would the World Be Better Off Without Philanthropists? Critics say that big-time donors wield too much power over their fellow-citizens and perpetuate social inequality. But don’t cancel Lady Bountiful just yet. By Nicholas Lemann The Current Cinema “Top Gun: Maverick” Far Outflies Its Predecessor Joseph Kosinski’s beautifully shot sequel, with Tom Cruise as the Dorian Gray of the U.S. Navy, manages to make absurd triumphalism disarmingly puppyish. By Anthony Lane Newsletters Sign Up for The New Yorker’s Movie Club Newsletter Reviews of the current cinema, plus recommendations for classics and underrated treasures available on streaming services, every Friday. Humor and Puzzles Shouts & Murmurs Coming Up with Torture Ideas Is Harder Than You Think Biting snails? Powerful suction cups? Nah. The search for the next iron maiden is on. By Jack Handey Cartoons from the Issue Cartoons from the Issue Funny drawings from this week’s magazine. Crossword A Challenging Puzzle Imagined possibilities: nine letters. By Anna Shechtman Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Will Nediger More from The New Yorker Daily Comment Will the Coronavirus Pandemic Ever End? If Americans decide too soon that it is over, it could paradoxically drag on even longer. By Dhruv Khullar The New Yorker Interview Jemima Kirke Is Flipping the Script The “Girls” star rose to fame playing heightened versions of herself. In “Conversations with Friends,” she’s entering a different mode. By Coralie Kraft Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up for The Daily. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for This Week's Issue from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2022. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.