| | In my native Oklahoma, snake meat was a masculine trophy, edible proof that you were willing to tangle with death. By John Paul Brammer ![An illustration of a diamondback rattlesnake curled around a fork.]()
My mother made a pointof raising well-spoken Oklahomans. In her household, country participles like “brang” were tantamount to slurs. I was a soft boy who spent most of my time indoors, leafing through Mom’s glossy magazines or choreographing dances with my sister to the theme song of “Three’s Company.” Well-meaning adults pushed me toward an array of alternative activities: sports of all kinds, hunting, shooting guns, driving A.T.V.s. As it turned out, I was totally lacking whatever instinct propelled other little boys toward breaking rules and bones. Instead, I ended up engaged in the most perilous sport of all: being a pansy in rural America. At home and at school, I racked up quite the list of nicknames, including crybaby, sissy, fairy, or—as I was known to telemarketers who called on the landline—“Ma’am.” My only exposure to stereotypically masculine pursuits came from my mom’s brother, my Uncle John. He would arrive at the house with little notice, wearing hiking boots and a short-sleeved shirt with sunglasses tucked into the front pocket. He was unusually tall for a Hernandez sibling, just over six feet, with salt-and-pepper hair. My sister and I would put on sneakers and follow him to his pickup truck and the adventures, for better or for worse, would begin. | |
| From the News Desk | ![A black-and-white photograph of U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson looking at Marjorie Taylor Greene.]() Daily CommentHow Marjorie Taylor Greene Raises Money by Attacking Other RepublicansThe congresswoman is demanding Speaker Mike Johnson’s ouster. Is it principle—or a fund-raising ploy? ByDavid D. Kirkpatrick |
![A banner that says “The New Yorker: The Political Scene. From Washington: Susan B. Glasser, Jane Mayer, and Evan Osnos.”]() The Political Scene PodcastTrump’s “Bonkers” Immunity Claim, with Neal KatyalAnalyzing the former President’s quest for protection from prosecution before the U.S. Supreme Court. |
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| | Dept. of Diversions | ![A photo of a goalie defending the net against a close-range shot in ice hockey.]() The Sporting SceneDoes the “Hot Hand” Exist in Hockey?Nearly every hockey fan and player will tell you that, when the playoffs arrive, you have to go with the goalie who’s on a roll. Are they right? ByLouisa Thomas |
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| | The Next Food Trend | For this week’sFood Issue, we asked New Yorker staffers to predict the next “it” food—the culinary secret that will, in short order, be everywhere you look.Douglas Watson, a senior Web producer, offers today’s culinary prophecy. Sometimes the next food trend can be hard to spot because it’s right in front of you. Take, for instance, the glass ofbeerthat is right in front of me. It is a fairly ordinary glass, and I have poured into it a run-of-the-mill hazy New England-style I.P.A. And yet, reader, the experience of drinking it (the beer, not the glass) is sublime! Now, I realize that it may be controversial to predict that the next big food trend will be beer. Surely so well-known a beverage must have already had its day—or, better from a healthy-living perspective, its evening. An additional objection is that beer, according to some people, is not even a food. But why quibble? A culinary trend doesn’t have to make sense—it just has to be something that a lot of people are into. And my gut, my literal gut, tells me that beer is poised to have a moment. Like, probably again tonight. | |
| ![Shirt with bunny on a clothes hanger, promoting The New Yorker Store.]() | 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 » |
| | Culture Dept. | The Theatre“Stereophonic” and “Cabaret” Turn Up the Volume on BroadwayDavid Adjmi’s cult-hit play features seventies-inspired rock songs by Will Butler, while Eddie Redmayne presides over a demonic version of the Kit Kat Club. ByHelen Shaw |
| The Front Row“The Feeling That the Time for Doing Something Has Passed” Is a Deceptively Plain MasterpieceJoanna Arnow’s new film mines the comic potential of distance and framing, in an examination of degradations large and small. ByRichard Brody |
| Culture DeskWhat Cartoonists Saw in Isolation: A Portrait of the PandemicIn the spring of 2020, artists captured silliness, sexiness, despondence, and hope. What does quarantine look like when viewed from the other side? ByGabe Fowler |
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| | | Fun & Games Dept. | Blitt’s KvetchbookUp in Arms at Columbia UniversityDemonstrations and counter-demonstrations on campus and beyond. ByBarry Blitt |
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| | ![A top hat with long legs on a beige background.]() | Name Drop:Can you guess the identity of a notable person—contemporary or historical—in six clues?Play our trivia game » |
| | P.S. There is such a thingas too much spring break—for parents toting tantrumming toddlers through all-inclusive resorts, for airport-desk attendants managing crowds, and definitely for hordes of debauched college students. In 2002, the staff writer Rebecca Mead wrotea wild portrait of the young, raucous crowdsthat gathered on South Padre Island, in Texas, for heavy drinking, wet-T-shirt contests, and other activities not fit for a grad-school application. | |
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