The K-Pop King Takes America

Plus: Hurricane Milton and the new abnormal; Taylor Lorenz goes full creator; and did this man create Bitcoin? View in browser | Update your preferences Wednesday, October 9, 2024 In today’s newsletter, pop music goes Bang, and then: • Hurricane Milton and the new abnormal • Did this man create Bitcoin? • Taylor Lorenz goes full creator The K-Pop King The producer behind BTS is bringing his formula for creating idols to America. Photograph by Charlotte Rutherford for The New Yorker Producers have been inventing pop stars and constructing super groups since well before Elvis started shaking his hips. And so, in a way, Bang Si-hyuk, whose triumphs in Korea’s music scene have made him a billionaire and earned him the nickname Hitman Bang, fits nicely into a long lineage of Svengalis. Bang has launched a new quest to dominate charts around the globe, but, as Alex Barasch reports in this week’s issue, the producer is using a formula that relies on a radical kind of fan service from his artists, and his enthusiasm seems increasingly disconnected from the sound. “Music delivers a very strong experience and emotions in an instant of listening,” Bang explains. “But we want to make it so that it can be part of a much longer and more sustained type of content consumption.” Will the future of pop need music at all? Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » The Lede Reporting and commentary on what you need to know today. Hurricane Milton Is a New Sign of the Abnormal Photograph by Bryan R. Smith / AFP / Getty Weather-wise, the world has entered uncharted territory—and the best we can do at this point is try to limit future damage by, on the one hand, radically reducing fossil-fuel emissions and, on the other, building more resilient infrastructure. Elizabeth Kolbert reports. If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up. From the News Desk Annals of Technology Has Bitcoin’s Elusive Creator Finally Been Unmasked? The identity of the cryptocurrency’s founder, who went by Satoshi Nakamoto, is one of our era’s great mysteries. A documentarian now claims to have solved it. By Gideon Lewis-Kraus Under Review The Challenge of Mapping the Latino Right In a new book, the journalist Paola Ramos advances a unified theory of why more Latinos are supporting Donald Trump. But such a theory risks ignoring the diversity of this demographic’s experience. By Geraldo Cadava The Lede Why Netanyahu Won’t Cease Fire The Prime Minister sought to justify his broadening of the war—from Gaza to Beirut—with a Biblical reference at the United Nations. By Bernard Avishai The New Yorker Documentary A Public Defender’s Radical Approach to Representing the January 6th Rioters The documentary follows the work of a criminal-defense lawyer who strives to confront America’s political divisions with empathy. Film by Andrea Kalin Text by Amy Davidson Sorkin Infinite Scroll Taylor Lorenz’s Plan to Dance on Legacy Media’s Grave Illustration by Ariel Davis A reporter known for chronicling the “extremely online” is making the leap into the creator economy. The most surprising thing, Kyle Chayka writes, is that she waited this long. Read the column » Infinite Scroll publishes every Wednesday. Culture Dept. On Television Ryan Murphy’s Latest Era of Cynical Hits In “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” the astoundingly prolific showrunner melds his modes as provocateur and clumsy social-justice warrior, with mixed results. By Inkoo Kang Fun & Games Dept. Crossword A Beginner-friendly Puzzle History-making computer scientist with a biography subtitled “The Enigma”: ten letters. By Paolo Pasco Daily Cartoon Wednesday, October 9th By Liz Montague P.S. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded today to David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper, for their work in the analysis and design of proteins. In 2020, Matthew Hutson wrote about the ways in which Baker’s search for one of “technology’s holy grails” could “help us cure diseases; build new kinds of materials and electronics; clean up the environment; create and transform life itself.” 🧬 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.