Judy Blume’s Unfinished Endings

Plus: a heat shield to protect Arctic ice; Tucker Carlson’s grip on the right; and Biden announces his bid for 2024. View in browser | Update your preferences Tuesday, April 25, 2023 In today’s newsletter, how books can make adults, and then: • A heat shield to protect Arctic ice • The world according to Tucker Carlson • Will the 2024 election really be a rerun of 2020? Judy Blume’s Unfinished Endings Her most famous novel, “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” is finally being adapted for the screen. But its mysteries remain rooted in real life. Photograph by Brigitte Lacombe for The New Yorker Anyone whose books have sold more than ninety million copies doesn’t need a day job. But you can frequently find the eighty-five-year-old Judy Blume stocking shelves and tidying displays at the independent bookstore that she co-founded in Key West. Sarah Larson recently spent a busy day there with Blume, and tries to get at the center of her tremendously vital role in the lives of so many readers across multiple generations. As Larson explains, “One of the great truisms and paradoxes of the Judy Blume phenomenon is that, for millions of fans, her books performed the role of parents—helping guide kids through coming-of-age milestones like periods, erections, and masturbation—while giving parents and kids the freedom to avoid discussing those things. Her books are wise but not preachy, light on their feet, easy to digest. Reading one a little too early isn’t going to mess anyone up. It’s more likely to give you clues to the human mystery—which will, in turn, help you decode your future.” Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » From Our Climate Issue The Control of Nature A Heat Shield for the Most Important Ice on Earth Engineers might be able to protect Arctic ice by coating it with tiny glass bubbles. Should they? By Rachel Riederer Q. & A. A Case for Climate Optimism, and Pragmatism, from John Podesta The veteran political operative now has one of the nation’s top climate jobs. He speaks about the Willow oil-drilling project, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Biden White House. By Bill McKibben Action Item As part of this week’s digital issue, Bill McKibben is joining us daily to share one key action you can take right now to help fight for the planet’s survival. Today’s tip: If you have an alma mater, ask the development office if they’ve divested from fossil fuel yet—and point out that Harvard, Princeton, the University of California, Michigan, Oxford, Cambridge, and hundreds more have taken steps to do so. You could note that study after study demonstrates it comes with no financial penalty—and that it could prove useful in attracting new students, members of the Greta Thunberg generation who have little tolerance for climate hypocrisy. If your college has already done the right thing, ask your state treasurer to follow pension plans in New York, Maine, Quebec, and many other places toward going fossil-free. The latest data show just how helpful in the fight it can be. From the News Desk Daily Comment The World According to Tucker Carlson Donald Trump had the raw power on the right. But it was Carlson who set the ideological agenda. By Andrew Marantz Daily Comment Are We Really Getting a Rerun of the 2020 Campaign? President Biden’s reëlection launch aims to submerge concern about his age beneath a larger case that the character of the nation is on the ballot. By Evan Osnos Our Columnists Joe Biden’s 2024 Opening Argument: It’s Me or the Abyss The President’s calling card—as a Trump-slayer, and an upholder of normality and sanity—remains his biggest advantage. By John Cassidy Dispatch After the Shooting in Kansas City Ralph Yarl is part of a tight-knit community of Liberian immigrants, many of whom fled violence to come to America. By Michael Holtz Editor’s Pick Music and Politics Belafonte’s Balancing Act “Harry Belafonte was radical before it was chic and remained so long after it wasn’t,” Henry Louis Gates, Jr., writes, in this 1996 profile of the Hollywood star, who died today at the age of ninety-six. By Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Fun & Games Dept. Name Drop Play Today’s Quiz Can you guess the notable person in six clues or fewer? By Matt Jackson Daily Shouts I Invented the Refrigerator to Display Wedding Invitations, So Please Stop Defiling It with Food To see my invention bastardized and stuffed with expired jars of marinara sauce and Styrofoam containers of leftovers is crassly insulting. By Zoe Pearl Crossword A Moderately Challenging Puzzle Compound in butter or coconut oil: five letters. By Paolo Pasco Daily Cartoon Tuesday, April 25th By Jason Adam Katzenstein P.S. Al Pacino turns eighty-three today. Revisit John Lahr’s Profile of the actor, from 2014, in which Pacino recounts a story about being a standout performer in school: “Somebody came up and said to my mother, ‘Here’s the next Brando.’ I said, ‘Who’s Brando?’ ” Today’s newsletter was written by Ian Crouch. 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 The Daily from The New Yorker. 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