The New Yorker

A cartoon by Kendra Allenby. #NewYorkerCartoons See more from this week’s issue: https://lnkd.in/gK5HXBzx

How long can Emily possibly stay in Paris? The Netflix series in question débuted way back in October of 2020, in the early days of the pandemic, when it seemed possible that nothing would ever be normal again. “Here was a shining beacon of banality, a streaming series that didn’t even attempt to challenge viewers, instead bathing us in comfort as Emily jogged through the City of Light, became a successful influencer, and remained tackily American in the face of French decadence,” Kyle Chayka writes. We couldn’t leave our houses, but Emily, played by Lily Collins, was our tourist avatar. “At the time, I dubbed the series ‘ambient television,’ a multimedia production designed to function as background while you looked at your phone,” Chayka continues. Emily’s recently released fourth season is much the same, but more so—that is, it’s worse, in ways that reflect the hollowing out of the streaming industry that spawned it. Scarcely an episode goes by without multiple product placements; the characters are mere containers for their monetizable personal brands. The initial promise of the show was entertainment as audiovisual cotton candy, but “with each passing season, the creeping incoherence becomes harder to ignore, breaking the show’s addictive spell.” Read the latest installment of Chakya’s weekly column: https://lnkd.in/gCgG6c5S

Maricopa County, Arizona, is the biggest competitive jurisdiction in the nation, with more residents than Oregon or Iowa, and a battleground area in a battleground state. The county is currently electing a recorder, who is partly responsible for running and certifying elections in the Phoenix area. It’s an obscure but increasingly important, and increasingly contested, role—with stakes that could determine the Presidency. Read Rachel Monroe’s report on the race behind the race: https://lnkd.in/gE4UJ5ym

In 1983, at age 55, Betty Ann borrowed $29,000 to attend New York University’s law school, becoming one of its few Black female students at that time. Thirty-five years after graduating, she owed $329,309.69. Trying to understand Betty Ann’s debts required a near-forensic audit. They were old, for starters, and had been subject to multiple loan servicers, a shifting tide of legal regimes, and decades of patchy bookkeeping. “Holy shit,” the Department of Education’s ombudsperson said, as she flipped through the loan history, realizing that Betty Ann had endured numerous administrative bungles. In 2023, Betty Ann found out that the Department of Education had cancelled her debt. It’s unclear how the department arrived at its decision. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gyP5-M78

Today’s Daily Cartoon, by Brandon Loper. #NewYorkerCartoon https://lnkd.in/giZj88iP

Is A.I. a tool for self-exploration or “a knife sharpener for the blade of capitalism?” At last year’s New Yorker Festival, the writer Ted Chiang and the philosopher Daniel Dennett discussed why people want A.I. Learn more about this year’s Festival: https://lnkd.in/gaJwPUh5

Soon enough it will be Demure Autumn, but what was Brat Summer? Lena Dunham explores an unprecedented era. https://lnkd.in/gXNKD3iG

The 31-year-old Brazilian artist Tadáskía has taken up the very tall walls of the Museum of Modern Art’s Projects Room to create an intimate yet expansive atmosphere. Her installation, which is being shown through October 14th, produces a narrative that coheres through her investment in Brazil’s political and spiritual life, and in the history of her ancestors. For more N.Y.C. recommendations, sign up for our Goings On newsletter: https://lnkd.in/et3v2TnN

Raymond Matts, the fragrance designer who created such scents as Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds and Clinique’s Happy, assesses the eau de Gowanus—one of Brooklyn’s most pungent odors. https://lnkd.in/gHnaY-SH

A poem by Andrea Cohen. https://lnkd.in/gtZ7eVt8