Lila Neugebauer Interrogates the Ghosts of “Uncle Vanya”

A Profile of the director. Plus: Biden’s Texas showdown; and in praise of the benediction. View in browser | Update your preferences Sunday, March 31, 2024 Profiles Lila Neugebauer Interrogates the Ghosts of “Uncle Vanya” A director of the modern uncanny steers the first Broadway production of Chekhov’s masterpiece in twenty years. By Helen Shaw Editor’s Picks Essay In Praise of the Benediction Whether it’s a sombre Good Friday service or the trumpets of Easter Sunday, the blessing confers both the promise of a future and a surrender to its uncertainty. By Julia Cho Comment Joe Biden’s Texas Showdown In some ways, Greg Abbott, as the governor of a border state, poses a more acute political problem for the President than Donald Trump does. By Jonathan Blitzer The Sporting Scene Mookie Betts Makes Baseball Fun Again Overshadowed by his epochal teammate, the diminutive superstar, now a shortstop, plays the game with a quick, open mind and an astonishing array of skills. By Louisa Thomas From the Archive A Critic at Large What Did Jesus Do? From 2010: Reading and unreading the Gospels. By Adam Gopnik Culture Dept. Books You Say You Want a Revolution. Do You Know What You Mean by That? Two new books, by Fareed Zakaria and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal, demonstrate the concept’s allure and perils. By Gideon Lewis-Kraus Poems “To You” “I know grief and you may know it too.” By Maxine Scates Poems “The Hymn” “It began as an almost inaudible hum.” By Marie Howe Screening Room The New Yorker Documentary Flipping the Script on Trans Medical Encounters Noah Schamus and Brit Fryer’s short film offers a vision of how physicians and trans patients can meet one another on equal footing. Film by Noah Schamus and Brit Fryer Text by Stef M. Shuster Fun & Games Dept. Shouts & Murmurs America!: The Easter Bunny, Rebranded for Gen Z From 2023: It’s finally here—a climate-conscious, low-low-rise-jean-wearing, TikTok-viral Easter mascot, designed specifically for you youths. By Ali Fitzgerald Shouts & Murmurs Signs You Should Give Up on a Book You’re using the book to squash bugs; you’re waiting for the book to initiate physical contact; you can’t stop thinking about Gary Oldman movies. By JiJi Lee Name Drop: Can you guess the identity of a notable person—contemporary or historical—in six clues? Play our trivia game » Thanks for reading. Let us know your thoughts about today’s edition. Plus, browse more newsletters and invite a friend to sign up. You’re receiving this e-mail because you signed up for the daily newsletter from The New Yorker. Manage your preferences | View our Privacy Policy | Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2024. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.