Battling Under a Canopy of Drones in Ukraine

In today’s newsletter:David Remnick on the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” finale; reactions to the Northeast earthquake; and behind the scenes of New York City’s “trash revolution.”Jump to a complete list of what’s in the issue.

The commander of one of Ukraine’s most skilled units sent his men on a dangerous mission that required them to outmaneuver a swarm of aerial threats.

In a harrowing report for this week’s issue, Luke Mogelsonembeds with the 1st Separate Assault Battalion, an élite force of Ukrainian soldiers deployed to areas of the front that are in danger of collapse. He follows a commander who goes by the call sign Perun, whose experiences in the war (and as a guerrilla activist before it) have taught him the importance of guile and creativity in the face of a more powerful adversary. While surveying by screen in a basement bunker, Perun orchestrates his fighters’ movements—knowing that any misstep could mean instant death.

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Cover Story:With “Undercover,” the artist Peter de Sève created a tableau of some familiar spring friends—and then added a few surprising faces for a bit of fun. “Creating an image that requires the viewer to be engaged with it in the same way they interact with a puzzle is always rewarding,” he explains.Shop all our covers »

Inside New York’s “Trash Revolution”:The city has lived in filth for decades. Eric Lach reports on whether Jessica Tisch, a scion of one of the country’s richest families,can finally clean up the streets.

Maggie Rogers Finds Religion:The singer-songwriter’s sudden celebrity made her a kind of minister without training. So, Amanda Petrusich writes,she went and got some.

Plus:Evan Osnos onBiden’s growing tension with Israel; Rebecca Mead onthe slouching epidemic; and more.

1. A post-pandemic fightabout racism, the respectful treatment of trans kids, and the role of teachers’ unions has divided Amherst, Massachusetts. Jessica Winter onthe meltdown at a middle school in a liberal town.

2. “Do I think that Joe Bidenhas the same depth of feeling and empathy for the Palestinians of Gaza as he does for the Israelis? No, he doesn’t, nor does he convey it.” The former State Department official Aaron David Miller caused a stir withhis answers to questions from Isaac Chotiner.

3. The best wayto make sense of the right-wing social-media carnival of Truth Social is to create a username and see for yourself. Kyle Chaykainvestigates Trump’s online Potemkin village.

4. Woody Allen’s filmshave often specialized in denunciation and retribution. His latest is about getting away with murder. Richard Brodywrites about “Coup de Chance.”

5. The mainstream press,Jay Caspian Kang argues, should beginairing more of Donald Trump’s speeches, and “let the former President speak for himself in his unhinged, and, yes, often violent way. I imagine he will have no problem reminding us of who he is.”

“We’ll be experiencing more of those as the world falls apart. There’s no standing under a doorframe, no ‘Stop, drop, and roll’—you’re just fucked.”

—A barista in Manhattan, after the Northeast earthquake on Friday, imagining disasters to come.

P.S. “Back in my day,we didn’t have ‘diversity’ or ‘women.’ It was a true meritocracy!” In Shouts & Murmurs, Alexis Wilkinson dispensessome old-fashioned know-how.