YESTERDAY: The New Yorker Daily / J. D. Vance Got What He Wanted

 

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

In today’s newsletter, Benjamin Wallace-Wells on the V.P. debate. Plus, Rebecca Mead shares her favorite Queen Elizabeth II media. And then: • The A.I. slop problem • China’s bubble-tea explosion • Defending trans lives in a deep-red state J. D. Vance Got the Conversation He Wanted at the Vice-Presidential Debate But the matchup came down to Tim Walz’s record in Minnesota versus his opponent’s unfailing defense of Donald Trump. Photograph by Chip Somodevilla / Getty The pressure was on last night to finish first—and J. D. Vance kept a stride ahead of Tim Walz, Benjamin Wallace-Wells writes, in his analysis of the V.P. debate. Republican-friendly issues such as Iran and immigration dominated the first half hour, and Vance was quick to bring up the talking points that might reflect well on his party. Walz’s wins came later on. At one point, the Democratic nominee said, “I hope we have a conversation on health care,” to which the Republican responded, “Please.” Then they didn’t, for a while. And, as Wallace-Wells notes, “ ‘I hope we have a conversation on health care’ might end up being the story of the Presidential race.” Read the story Support The New Yorker’s award-winning journalism. Subscribe today » More on the Debate Revisit Our Debate Live Blog: New Yorker writers reacted to the debate as it unfolded. Read their analysis » The Political Scene Podcast: Clare Malone and Vinson Cunningham give a play-by-play of the “surprisingly policy-oriented” Vice-Presidential showdown. Listen and follow » The Critic Recommends Rebecca Mead Staff writer Photograph from Bettmann / Getty Why read, let alone write, another book about Queen Elizabeth II? There are shelf-loads already, in tones both sober (“The Queen,” by Ben Pimlott) and gossipy (“The Palace Papers,” by Tina Brown), and some even obsessively canine (“All the Queen’s Corgis,” by Penny Junor). I’ve read a bunch of them over the years, but Craig Brown, whose frolicsome “Q: A Voyage Around the Queen” I review in this week’s issue, has read them all, and much, much more—from an anodyne but nonetheless scandalizing memoir by the Queen’s former governess, Marion Crawford, to “Dreams about HM the Queen and Other Members of the Royal Family” by Brian Masters. Personally, I would never dream of dreaming about the Queen, but there is one regal cultural product that happily haunts me: the short sketch that she “performed” with an animated Paddington Bear on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee, in 2022. I’m no monarchist, but, when I hear Ben Whishaw-as-Paddington tell Her Majesty, “Thank you, for everything,” well, it would be churlish to do anything other than concur. Read the review of “Q: A Voyage Around the Queen” If you know someone who would enjoy this newsletter, please share it. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up. Video Dept. The New Yorker Documentary Zooey Zephyr’s Defense of Trans Lives in a Deep-Red State A short documentary goes behind the scenes with the Montana state representative as she fights for trans medical care and makes a momentous decision in her own life. Film by Kimberly Reed Text by E. Tammy Kim Kyle Chayka How to Opt Out of A.I. Online Illustration by Ariel Davis “Those of us who have no interest in engaging with slop find ourselves performing a new kind of labor every time we go online—call it a mental slop tax,” Kyle Chaka writes, of the A.I.-generated images and text that dominate so much of social media. Weeding through the fakery to find the reality has become a job unto itself. Read the column » Infinite Scroll publishes every Wednesday. Culture Dept. Annals of Gastronomy Where the Bubble-Tea Industry Has Gone Into Hyperdrive In China, a new generation of milk-tea chains—with design schemes that evoke everything from Communist-era factory floors to spaceships—sell not only beverages but also imagined worlds. By Han Zhang Fun & Games Dept.  Crossword A Beginner-friendly Puzzle Like uncomfortable futons and overbaked croutons: four letters. By Robyn Weintraub  Daily Cartoon Wednesday, October 2nd By Jimmy Craig P.S. It’s partly her longevity that will keep Queen Elizabeth II’s book count higher than that of her heirs. But Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton—“two beautiful, preppy string beans,” to use Clare Malone’s description—will likely catch up a bit. Because, as Malone has shown, even the American media is obsessed.  Today’s newsletter was written by Hannah Jocelyn.

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