This Week’s Issue: How Mick Herron Reinvented the Spy Novel—The Genius of Metallica—The For-Profit Hospice Hustle

Plus: Molly Fischer on an N.F.T. queen; Maggie Doherty on Kathy Acker; and fiction by Danielle Dutton. View in browser | Update your preferences Life and Letters Is Mick Herron the Best Spy Novelist of His Generation? In his “Slough House” thrillers, the screwups save the day—and there’s a very fine line between comedy and catastrophe. By Jill Lepore This Week’s Cover Cover Story “Off-Season” The cover artist for this week’s issue, Jorge Colombo, discusses his winter jaunts to Coney Island and why he prefers the remnants of the party. By Françoise Mouly Shop this cover and others from The New Yorker in the Condé Nast Store » Reporting and Commentary Brave New World Dept. Yam Karkai’s Illustrations Made Her an N.F.T. Sensation. Now What? World of Women confronts the limits of selling cartoon avatars on the blockchain after the crypto bubble burst. By Molly Fischer A Reporter at Large How Hospice Became a For-Profit Hustle It began as a visionary notion—that patients could die with dignity at home. Now it’s a twenty-two-billion-dollar industry plagued by exploitation. By Ava Kofman Profiles The Enduring Metal Genius of Metallica On the road with the band in its forty-first year. By Amanda Petrusich Comment Is the Nancy Pelosi Era Really Ending? The Speaker of the House is stepping aside, but her school of politics isn’t going anywhere. By Benjamin Wallace-Wells The Critics Books What Hollywood’s Ultimate Oral History Reveals For all the clouds of publicity, the dream machine is actually a craft business. Have we asked too much of it? By Adam Gopnik The Theatre Gender Critique Meets Lewd Spectacle in “The Patient Gloria” Gina Moxley’s play examines the sexual and behavioral strictures on women through the lens of psychotherapy circa 1964. By Vinson Cunningham Books Kathy Acker’s Art of Identity Theft By stealing the work of others, the author remade herself—and reinvented what autobiographical writing could be. By Maggie Doherty Sale Ends Today: Enjoy holiday-season discounts of up to thirty per cent on apparel and home goods for yourself and your loved ones at The New Yorker Store. Fiction from the Issue Fiction “My Wonderful Description of Flowers” “Something is waiting to happen, I think. This is just the lull.” By Danielle Dutton Humor from The New Yorker Shouts & Murmurs My Last Will and Testament, on VHS It’s better than a digital Video Will that goes out as an e-mail blast, or a message on a WhatsApp group called Father Has Perished. By Jay Katsir Cartoons from the Issue Cartoons from the Issue Funny drawings from this week’s magazine. Crossword A Challenging Puzzle Meeting place at the end of “Moonlight”: five letters. By Brooke Husic Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Liz Maynes-Aminzade More from The New Yorker The New Yorker Interview Neil Young Embraces Imperfection The singer-songwriter discusses his new album with the theme of climate change, his friendship with Rick Rubin, and recording melodies on his flip phone. By Amanda Petrusich Culture Desk A Board-Game Auteur Makes His Next Move Everyone is ready to play Frosthaven, Isaac Childres’s sequel to his blockbuster Gloomhaven. By Sean Michaels 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.