How Should We Treat Animals?

Plus: is Taylor Swift unreviewable? And why work sucks. View in browser | Update your preferences Wednesday, May 1, 2024 In today’s newsletter, dogs are the last bipartisan issue, and then: • Turning empty offices into apartments • Is Taylor Swift unreviewable? • Why work sucks Books How Far Should We Carry the Logic of the Animal-Rights Movement? People who think seriously about the use and abuse of nonhuman creatures often end up calling for changes that might seem indefensible—at least, at first. By Kelefa Sanneh Reporter’s Notebook The staff writer Kelefa Sanneh on why the question of animal rights bridges the American cultural divide. Last week, the Guardian reported on a passage from a forthcoming book by Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota. In it, she recalls having once owned a dog named Cricket, who, at fourteen months old, misbehaved during a hunting trip, killed a number of chickens, and threatened to bite her. Noem took the dog to a gravel pit and shot it dead. The response to this story was bipartisan horror and confusion. Noem had “managed to unite the right and the left,” Jeanine Pirro, the Fox News host, said. “America—if nothing else—we are dog lovers.” I couldn’t help but think of a similar story from a very different book: “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” the recent memoir by Sly Stone, the wizardly band leader who reimagined American music in the late nineteen-sixties and early seventies. Stone writes about the time his dog bit his son, seemingly badly. He took the dog out onto his balcony, where the dog “made a noise that told me he was never going to be sorry,” which evidently ended the evaluation. “I shot him and then threw the body down into the canyon,” Stone recounts. “It was the hardest thing I had ever done.” Stories like these tend to evoke strong emotional reactions, but they also raise complicated questions. There is no clear consensus in America about exactly when it is permissible, or even imperative, to kill a dog, let alone how. Does it matter whether the setting is a veterinary office or a gravel pit? Does a dog’s life count differently than a chicken’s? And if killing a misbehaving hunting dog is unforgivable, then what about hunting itself? In this week’s issue, I write about the long-running debate over how we should think about animals, and how we should treat them. It’s a debate that tends to create alliances and divisions that are more complicated than right and left. Often, you will find professed lovers of dogs and other animals on both sides. And sometimes, apparently, you might find a South Dakota cowgirl and a “spaced cowboy” on the same side. Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » Onward and Upward Dept. Our Local Correspondents Can Turning Office Towers Into Apartments Save Downtowns? Nathan Berman is working to rescue Manhattan’s financial district from a “doom loop” by carving attractive living spaces from hulking properties that once housed fields of cubicles. But, if no one wants to work in glum, out-of-date buildings, why would anyone want to live in them? By D. T. Max New in The New Yorker Store! Check out limited-edition tote bags and more, featuring art by celebrated contributors including Saul Steinberg and George Booth. Visit the Store » Editor’s Picks Under Review Work Sucks. What Could Salvage It? New books examine the place of work in our lives—and how people throughout history have tried to change it. By Erik Baker Cultural Comment Why Normal Music Reviews No Longer Make Sense for Taylor Swift Critics argue that “The Tortured Poets Department” sounds too much like Swift’s previous albums. Fans argue that that’s the whole point. By Sinéad O’Sullivan Infinite Scroll The Revenge of the Home Page As social networks become less reliable distributors of the news, consumers of digital journalism are seeking out an older form of online real estate. By Kyle Chayka Daily Comment The Surprising Rise of Latin American Evangelical Missionaries A new book looks at a clandestine movement to proselytize in Muslim countries. By Graciela Mochkofsky From the Archive Photograph by Richard Avedon / © The Richard Avedon Foundation The writer Paul Auster died yesterday, at the age of seventy-seven. In 1995, The New Yorker published a striking and enigmatic piece of his titled “Why Write,” which lays out a series of uncanny and affecting incidents, leading to the final beat, where Auster explains the roots of his vocation. “If nothing else,” he writes, “the years have taught me this: if there’s a pencil in your pocket, there’s a good chance that one day you’ll feel tempted to start using it.” Fun & Games Dept. Crossword A Beginner-Friendly Puzzle Musician who might play “Taps” at Arlington National Cemetery: six letters. By Robyn Weintraub Daily Cartoon Wednesday, May 1st By Brooke Bourgeois and Scott Polhemus Name Drop: Can you guess the identity of a notable person—contemporary or historical—in six clues? Play a quiz from our archive » P.S. In April, 1968, E. B. White visited the campus of Columbia University, after several of its buildings had been occupied by student activists who were protesting the school’s expansion against the wishes of Harlem residents, the exploitation of university workers, and the war in Vietnam. There he found a mostly calm scene, though it was punctuated by disagreement on all sides. A younger man, apparently a student, argued with an older man, who appeared to be from the neighborhood. The young man said, “How can we permit this? . . . What’s happened to the democratic method? What about the traditions of this university?” The older man responded, “Tradition? That’s in the past. These people are living in the present, and that’s where they should be living.” Today’s newsletter was written by Ian Crouch. What did you think of today’s newsletter? Let us know. If you like the daily newsletter, browse more New Yorker newsletters. 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.