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New York Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
A 1,400-County Crisis for Democrats
Hosted by Michael Barbaro Featuring Shane Goldmacher Produced by Asthaa ChaturvediOlivia Natt and Alex Stern With Nina Feldman Edited by Rachel Quester Original music by Diane Wong Engineered by Alyssa Moxley It's conventional wisdom that President Trump has transformed American politics. But a new county-by-county voting analysis from The New York Times of the last four presidential races shows just how drastically Mr. Trump has changed the electoral map. Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The Times, explains why the trends are a five-alarm fire for the Democrats and discusses the debate within the party over what to do about it. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times. How Donald Trump has remade America's political landscape. Six months after the election, Democrats are still searching for a path forward. There are a lot of ways to listen to 'The Daily.' Here's how. We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode's publication. You can find them at the top of the page. The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon M. Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez, Brendan Klinkenberg, Chris Haxel, Maria Byrne, Anna Foley and Caitlin O'Keefe. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam, Nick Pitman and Kathleen O'Brien.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Five Movies Worth a Repeat Watch
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition. Not all movies are meant to be watched twice. Some leave a glancing effect; others emanate so much intensity that the idea of sitting through them again feels unbearable. But then there are those films that draw you back in, even after you've seen it all before. So we asked The Atlantic's writers and editors: What's a movie you can watch over and over again? Raising Arizona (available to rent on Prime Video) I've probably seen Raising Arizona, the Coen brothers' 1987 classic with Holly Hunter and a 22-year-old Nicholas Cage, a half dozen times over the years. But I've watched the opening sequence many, many more times than that. It's a whole movie-within-the-movie, building up to the title shot with Cage's deadpan narration, rapid-cut scenes, and a jaunty musical bed that goes from whistling and humming to weird ululating. The screenwriting has some all-time great lines ('I tried to stand up and fly straight, but it wasn't easy with that sumbitch Reagan in the White House,' says Cage, with wild hair, aviators, and a 12-gauge shotgun, preparing to stick up a convenience store). The other day, I made my 12-year-old watch it for the first time. When Cage says to his chatty prison bunkmate, incredulously, 'You ate sand?!' my son nearly fell on the floor. A true marker of timelessness. — Nick Miroff, staff writer *** White Christmas (streaming on Prime Video) It makes me miserable to contemplate how many people have never once seen the 1954 film White Christmas, let alone given it 10 to 20 percent of their attention while focusing on other activities, which is the ideal way to view it. Then again, the film's surprising obscurity is its hidden ace: From the moment you press 'Play' on White Christmas, no one who glances at the screen will be able to predict or even comprehend any aspect of the Technicolor encephalitic fever dream exploding before them unless they have previously seen White Christmas. In any given frame, a viewer might be confronted with a horde of people cavorting inside a giant purple void, waggling tambourines adorned with women's faces; the bombed-out smoldering remains of 1944 Europe; or the virtuoso dancer Vera-Ellen, in head-to-heel chartreuse, executing pirouettes at faster-than-heartbeat speeds (for no defined reason). Muted, it makes for terrific social lubricant at a party—there's something dazzling to remark upon nearly every second if conversation lags. Don't concern yourself with the plot; the film's writers did not. — Caity Weaver, staff writer *** The Lord of the Rings franchise (streaming on Max) I suppose my answer is less of a love letter to a movie than it is one to my family. My husband is the movie buff in our family—I'll rarely be caught rewatching movies. But his undying loyalty to the Lord of the Rings franchise means we've watched the trilogy together multiple times, more than once in an 11-plus-hour binge. (Yeah … it's the extended editions, every time.) The movies are a genuinely gorgeous feat of storytelling, bested only by the books; fantasy and action sequences aside, they spotlight friendship, loyalty, and the dueling motivations of pride, duty, and greed. And for our family, at least, they'll be a regular feature—I'm pretty sure it was implicit in our wedding vows that we'd indoctrinate our kids into the LOTR lore—which means that the films are about carving out time for one another as well. — Katherine J. Wu, staff writer *** All Your Faces (available to rent on Google Play and Apple TV) I've watched the French film All Your Faces three times in the past eight months. The movie isn't a documentary, but it's based on real restorative-justice programs in France that were introduced about a decade ago. Why did I repeatedly return to a film about an idiosyncratic feature of a foreign country's criminal-justice system? There's something about the encounter between victim and perpetrator, and the instability and unpredictability of these interactions, that surprised me each time I watched it. Equally intense was the tenderness between the instructors and the programs' participants, most evident between the characters played by Adèle Exarchopoulos and Élodie Bouchez. But it's Miou-Miou, playing an elderly victim of petty street crime, who delivers the most haunting line in the movie: 'I don't understand the violence.' A mantra for our time. — Isaac Stanley-Becker, staff writer *** Little Women (streaming on Hulu) Little Women first came to me as a comfort movie. Based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel, Greta Gerwig's 2019 film adaptation features not so much plot as simply vibes: a familiar tale of four sisters and their childhood friend, scenes of a snowy Christmas morning perfect for the holidays. But with each subsequent encounter during my lonely postgraduate months in a new city, I began to appreciate the little rebellions that make Gerwig's Little Women so special. The story is full of moments of seeing: Professor Bhaer turns around to watch Jo watching a play, Laurie gazes into the Marches' windows, and we, as viewers, feel seen by Jo's boyish brashness. But Gerwig also chooses to focus on Jo's many anxieties. Early in the film, Jo uncharacteristically dismisses her own writing ('Those are just stories,' she says. Just!); later, her monologue reveals a vulnerable desire for companionship (But I'm so lonely!). Gerwig honors the story's essence, but her version is not a granular retelling; rather, it serves as a homage to the art of writing itself—and women's mundane, humble stories, which Jo and Alcott are desperate to tell. — Yvonne Kim, associate editor Here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic: The perilous spread of the wellness craze Bring back communal kid discipline. The conversations Trump's doctors should be having with him The Week Ahead Ballerina, an action movie in the John Wick franchise starring Ana de Armas as an assassin bent on avenging her father's death (in theaters Friday) Season 3 of Ginny & Georgia, a comedy-drama series about a single mom and two kids trying to settle down in a new town (premieres Thursday on Netflix) The Haves and the Have-Yachts, a book by the journalist Evan Osnos featuring dispatches on the ultrarich (out Tuesday) Essay Diddy's Defenders By Xochitl Gonzalez Diddy—whose legal name is Sean Combs—has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Many Americans have taken to the comment sections to offer their full-throated belief in his innocence. Despite the video evidence of domestic violence, the photos of Combs's guns with serial numbers removed, and the multiple witnesses testifying that Combs threatened to kill them, this group insists that Diddy's biggest sin is nothing more than being a hypermasculine celebrity with 'libertine' sexual tastes. Read the full article. More in Culture What the show of the summer knows about intimacy Five books that will redirect your attention Unraveling the secrets of the Inca empire How a recession might tank American romance A film that captures a 'friend breakup' Catch Up on David Frum: The Trump presidency's world-historical heist Adam Serwer: The new Dark Age The coming Democratic civil war Photo Album Take a look at the beauty of the North. These photographs are by Olivier Morin, who captures remarkable images of the natural world, largely focusing on northern climates. Play our daily crossword. Explore all of our newsletters. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
Five Movies Worth a Repeat Watch
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition. Not all movies are meant to be watched twice. Some leave a glancing effect; others emanate so much intensity that the idea of sitting through them again feels unbearable. But then there are those films that draw you back in, even after you've seen it all before. So we asked The Atlantic 's writers and editors: What's a movie you can watch over and over again? Raising Arizona (available to rent on Prime Video) I've probably seen Raising Arizona, the Coen brothers' 1987 classic with Holly Hunter and a 22-year-old Nicholas Cage, a half dozen times over the years. But I've watched the opening sequence many, many more times than that. It's a whole movie-within-the-movie, building up to the title shot with Cage's deadpan narration, rapid-cut scenes, and a jaunty musical bed that goes from whistling and humming to weird ululating. The screenwriting has some all-time great lines ('I tried to stand up and fly straight, but it wasn't easy with that sumbitch Reagan in the White House,' says Cage, with wild hair, aviators, and a 12-gauge shotgun, preparing to stick up a convenience store). The other day, I made my 12-year-old watch it for the first time. When Cage says to his chatty prison bunkmate, incredulously, 'You ate sand?!' my son nearly fell on the floor. A true marker of timelessness. — Nick Miroff, staff writer White Christmas (streaming on Prime Video) It makes me miserable to contemplate how many people have never once seen the 1954 film White Christmas, let alone given it 10 to 20 percent of their attention while focusing on other activities, which is the ideal way to view it. Then again, the film's surprising obscurity is its hidden ace: From the moment you press 'Play' on White Christmas, no one who glances at the screen will be able to predict or even comprehend any aspect of the Technicolor encephalitic fever dream exploding before them unless they have previously seen White Christmas. In any given frame, a viewer might be confronted with a horde of people cavorting inside a giant purple void, waggling tambourines adorned with women's faces; the bombed-out smoldering remains of 1944 Europe; or the virtuoso dancer Vera-Ellen, in head-to-heel chartreuse, executing pirouettes at faster-than-heartbeat speeds (for no defined reason). Muted, it makes for terrific social lubricant at a party—there's something dazzling to remark upon nearly every second if conversation lags. Don't concern yourself with the plot; the film's writers did not. — Caity Weaver, staff writer The Lord of the Rings franchise (streaming on Max) I suppose my answer is less of a love letter to a movie than it is one to my family. My husband is the movie buff in our family—I'll rarely be caught rewatching movies. But his undying loyalty to the Lord of the Rings franchise means we've watched the trilogy together multiple times, more than once in an 11-plus-hour binge. (Yeah … it's the extended editions, every time.) The movies are a genuinely gorgeous feat of storytelling, bested only by the books; fantasy and action sequences aside, they spotlight friendship, loyalty, and the dueling motivations of pride, duty, and greed. And for our family, at least, they'll be a regular feature—I'm pretty sure it was implicit in our wedding vows that we'd indoctrinate our kids into the LOTR lore—which means that the films are about carving out time for one another as well. — Katherine J. Wu, staff writer All Your Faces (available to rent on Google Play and Apple TV) I've watched the French film All Your Faces three times in the past eight months. The movie isn't a documentary, but it's based on real restorative-justice programs in France that were introduced about a decade ago. Why did I repeatedly return to a film about an idiosyncratic feature of a foreign country's criminal-justice system? There's something about the encounter between victim and perpetrator, and the instability and unpredictability of these interactions, that surprised me each time I watched it. Equally intense was the tenderness between the instructors and the programs' participants, most evident between the characters played by Adèle Exarchopoulos and Élodie Bouchez. But it's Miou-Miou, playing an elderly victim of petty street crime, who delivers the most haunting line in the movie: 'I don't understand the violence.' A mantra for our time. — Isaac Stanley-Becker, staff writer Little Women (streaming on Hulu) Little Women first came to me as a comfort movie. Based on Louisa May Alcott's 1868 novel, Greta Gerwig's 2019 film adaptation features not so much plot as simply vibes: a familiar tale of four sisters and their childhood friend, scenes of a snowy Christmas morning perfect for the holidays. But with each subsequent encounter during my lonely postgraduate months in a new city, I began to appreciate the little rebellions that make Gerwig's Little Women so special. The story is full of moments of seeing: Professor Bhaer turns around to watch Jo watching a play, Laurie gazes into the Marches' windows, and we, as viewers, feel seen by Jo's boyish brashness. But Gerwig also chooses to focus on Jo's many anxieties. Early in the film, Jo uncharacteristically dismisses her own writing ('Those are just stories,' she says. Just!); later, her monologue reveals a vulnerable desire for companionship (But I'm so lonely!). Gerwig honors the story's essence, but her version is not a granular retelling; rather, it serves as a homage to the art of writing itself—and women's mundane, humble stories, which Jo and Alcott are desperate to tell. The Week Ahead Ballerina, an action movie in the John Wick franchise starring Ana de Armas as an assassin bent on avenging her father's death (in theaters Friday) Season 3 of Ginny & Georgia, a comedy-drama series about a single mom and two kids trying to settle down in a new town (premieres Thursday on Netflix) The Haves and the Have-Yachts, a book by the journalist Evan Osnos featuring dispatches on the ultrarich (out Tuesday) Essay Diddy's Defenders Diddy—whose legal name is Sean Combs—has pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Many Americans have taken to the comment sections to offer their full-throated belief in his innocence. Despite the video evidence of domestic violence, the photos of Combs's guns with serial numbers removed, and the multiple witnesses testifying that Combs threatened to kill them, this group insists that Diddy's biggest sin is nothing more than being a hypermasculine celebrity with 'libertine' sexual tastes. More in Culture Catch Up on The Atlantic Photo Album Take a look at the beauty of the North. These photographs are by Olivier Morin, who captures remarkable images of the natural world, largely focusing on northern climates.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Show That Makes Being Awkward Feel Good
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer or editor reveals what's keeping them entertained. Today's special guest is Serena Dai, a senior editor who has written about the easiest way to keep your friends, the art of the restaurateur, and the endless hunt to make meaning of marriage. Serena was surprised by how much she enjoyed The Rehearsal, the comedian Nathan Fielder's latest pseudo-reality series. She's also an avid romance-novel reader, a newly minted Jonas Brothers fan, and a longtime admirer of Kathryn Hahn's work. The Culture Survey: Serena Dai The television show I'm most enjoying right now: I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I could not bear to watch Nathan for You, a beloved show where the comedian Nathan Fielder suggests outlandish plans to help small businesses. Every person I trusted assured me that Fielder was a genius, and I got the sense that I must lack some sort of sophistication for not enjoying it. The entrepreneurs he was trying to 'help' with suggestions such as poop-flavored frozen yogurt were real people; I felt too badly for them to find the show entertaining. So I was surprised to discover that I loved his new series, The Rehearsal—and now, a few episodes into the second season, I finally understand the 'genius' moniker that my buddies have bequeathed him. Similar to Nathan for You, the show pairs Fielder's monotonous tone with outrageous conceits, but this time, the premise is staging 'rehearsals' to help people prepare for difficult moments. Though he's still cringey (and still allegedly misleading real people), he also poses questions about how comedy can effect real-life change, and reveals some insights about his own role in the entertainment industry's worst impulses. His critiques feel organic instead of forced, something that is not easy. By the second episode of the new season, I found myself not only in awe of the lengths he would go for a bit but also laughing out loud at the results. [Related: Nathan Fielder is his own worst enemy.] The upcoming entertainment event I'm most looking forward to: The return of Lena Dunham's work to our TV screens, with her upcoming Netflix show, Too Much. I recently rewatched the first season of Girls, and seeing it in my 30s (long after the heated discourse about Millennials and nepo babies that surrounded the show's debut), I had a deeper appreciation for Dunham's talent for writing sharply drawn characters—ones who, even when they're infuriating, you can't help but love. When she hits, she hits! The new show, which debuts on July 10, stars one of my favorite internet personalities, the comedian Megan Stalter. She has an intensity in her facial expressions that makes me laugh before she even says a word, and I am eager to see how Dunham works with her talents. [Related: Eight perfect episodes of TV] An actor I would watch in anything: Kathryn Hahn. She's funny and moving in so much that she does, but I really fell for her in I Love Dick, an adaptation of the Chris Kraus novel where she excels at playing a woman who wants and wants and wants. My favorite way of wasting time on my phone: This year, I finally did something that I've been thinking about for years: I started pulling up the Kindle app to read a book when I had the instinct to refresh my Instagram feed. I read an essay a long time ago recommending it as a way both to read more books and to make phone time feel less terrible, but I hadn't done it. For years, I still felt that any extended time I spent on my phone meant something bad about me, and frankly, I was also just easily distracted. But I decided I didn't need to read Proust, only stay off social media; as a result, I have probably tripled my intake of romance novels, which are breezy yet still require an attention span longer than 30 seconds. I recently dipped my toe into historical romance and have been loving the Ravenels series, by Lisa Kleypas, which you may also enjoy if you're a fan of Bridgerton. I do still spend plenty of time on Instagram trying to remind myself to not pay too much attention to parenting or fitness influencers, but I promise it's less. Much, much less. An author I will read anything by: Jasmine Guillory. I love romance, I love love, and I love her characters. An online creator whom I'm a fan of: I've been finding small ways to incorporate more Mandarin into my life because I'm trying to speak it more to my toddler, and a friend recommended following her Chinese teacher, Neruda Ling, on Instagram. He blends internet humor with Mandarin lessons, which is exactly what I need after a lifetime of associating the language with textbooks and long Sunday mornings in suburban community-college classrooms. Crucially, he also explains curse words and gay slang, something my immigrant mother would never have done in depth. To be honest, I'm not sure if I remember any of the phrases he's taught, and even if I did, I doubt that I would have the guts to deploy them in casual conversation. Mostly, these videos remind me that the language doesn't have to feel inherently stiff like it did when I was growing up, and that Mandarin can, in fact, be a source of joy. A good recommendation I recently received: I can't believe I'm saying this, but have you heard the latest Jonas Brothers single? It's called 'Love Me to Heaven,' and my husband stopped everything in our apartment one busy Saturday to make me listen to it. If you, like me, had kind of written them off as Disney Channel heartthrobs or tabloid fodder or reality-show jokesters, you too might be delighted to hear this pop-rock bop. I want to drive a convertible to the beach with the roof down and blast this song the whole way there. Here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic: The vanishers: secrets of the world's greatest privacy experts The mother who never stopped believing her son was still there The talented Mr. Vance The Week Ahead Karate Kid: Legends, an action movie starring Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio (in theaters Friday) Season 3 of And Just Like That, a sequel to Sex and the City (premieres Thursday on Max) Never Flinch, a crime novel by Stephen King about a killer and a dangerous stalker (out Tuesday) Essay The Pedestrians Who Abetted a Hawk's Deadly Attack By Katherine J. Wu In November of 2021, Vladimir Dinets was driving his daughter to school when he first noticed a hawk using a pedestrian crosswalk. The bird—a young Cooper's hawk, to be exact—wasn't using the crosswalk, in the sense of treading on the painted white stripes to reach the other side of the road in West Orange, New Jersey. But it was using the crosswalk—more specifically, the pedestrian-crossing signal that people activate to keep traffic out of said crosswalk—to ambush prey. Read the full article. More in Culture The unbearable weight of Mission: Impossible Time for scary movies to make us laugh again. America's Johnson & Johnson problem No one is better at being looked at than Kim Kardashian. What is Alison Bechdel's secret? Catch Up on The largest upward transfer of wealth in American history The decline and fall of Elon Musk The anti-natalist's revenge Photo Album Take a look at these photos of the week, showing a swannery in southern England, tornado damage in Kentucky, a rally race in a Chinese desert, and more. Explore all of our newsletters. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Atlantic
The Show That Makes Being Awkward Feel Good
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Welcome back to The Daily's Sunday culture edition, in which one Atlantic writer or editor reveals what's keeping them entertained. Today's special guest is Serena Dai, a senior editor who has written about the easiest way to keep your friends, the art of the restaurateur, and the endless hunt to make meaning of marriage. Serena was surprised by how much she enjoyed The Rehearsal, the comedian Nathan Fielder's latest pseudo-reality series. She's also an avid romance-novel reader, a newly minted Jonas Brothers fan, and a longtime admirer of Kathryn Hahn's work. The Culture Survey: Serena Dai The television show I'm most enjoying right now: I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I could not bear to watch Nathan for You, a beloved show where the comedian Nathan Fielder suggests outlandish plans to help small businesses. Every person I trusted assured me that Fielder was a genius, and I got the sense that I must lack some sort of sophistication for not enjoying it. The entrepreneurs he was trying to 'help' with suggestions such as poop-flavored frozen yogurt were real people; I felt too badly for them to find the show entertaining. So I was surprised to discover that I loved his new series, The Rehearsal —and now, a few episodes into the second season, I finally understand the 'genius' moniker that my buddies have bequeathed him. Similar to Nathan for You, the show pairs Fielder's monotonous tone with outrageous conceits, but this time, the premise is staging 'rehearsals' to help people prepare for difficult moments. Though he's still cringey (and still allegedly misleading real people), he also poses questions about how comedy can effect real-life change, and reveals some insights about his own role in the entertainment industry's worst impulses. His critiques feel organic instead of forced, something that is not easy. By the second episode of the new season, I found myself not only in awe of the lengths he would go for a bit but also laughing out loud at the results. [ Related: Nathan Fielder is his own worst enemy. ] The upcoming entertainment event I'm most looking forward to: The return of Lena Dunham's work to our TV screens, with her upcoming Netflix show, Too Much. I recently rewatched the first season of Girls, and seeing it in my 30s (long after the heated discourse about Millennials and nepo babies that surrounded the show's debut), I had a deeper appreciation for Dunham's talent for writing sharply drawn characters—ones who, even when they're infuriating, you can't help but love. When she hits, she hits! The new show, which debuts on July 10, stars one of my favorite internet personalities, the comedian Megan Stalter. She has an intensity in her facial expressions that makes me laugh before she even says a word, and I am eager to see how Dunham works with her talents. [ Related: Eight perfect episodes of TV ] An actor I would watch in anything: Kathryn Hahn. She's funny and moving in so much that she does, but I really fell for her in I Love Dick, an adaptation of the Chris Kraus novel where she excels at playing a woman who wants and wants and wants. My favorite way of wasting time on my phone: This year, I finally did something that I've been thinking about for years: I started pulling up the Kindle app to read a book when I had the instinct to refresh my Instagram feed. I read an essay a long time ago recommending it as a way both to read more books and to make phone time feel less terrible, but I hadn't done it. For years, I still felt that any extended time I spent on my phone meant something bad about me, and frankly, I was also just easily distracted. But I decided I didn't need to read Proust, only stay off social media; as a result, I have probably tripled my intake of romance novels, which are breezy yet still require an attention span longer than 30 seconds. I recently dipped my toe into historical romance and have been loving the Ravenels series, by Lisa Kleypas, which you may also enjoy if you're a fan of Bridgerton. I do still spend plenty of time on Instagram trying to remind myself to not pay too much attention to parenting or fitness influencers, but I promise it's less. Much, much less. An author I will read anything by: Jasmine Guillory. I love romance, I love love, and I love her characters. An online creator whom I'm a fan of: I've been finding small ways to incorporate more Mandarin into my life because I'm trying to speak it more to my toddler, and a friend recommended following her Chinese teacher, Neruda Ling, on Instagram. He blends internet humor with Mandarin lessons, which is exactly what I need after a lifetime of associating the language with textbooks and long Sunday mornings in suburban community-college classrooms. Crucially, he also explains curse words and gay slang, something my immigrant mother would never have done in depth. To be honest, I'm not sure if I remember any of the phrases he's taught, and even if I did, I doubt that I would have the guts to deploy them in casual conversation. Mostly, these videos remind me that the language doesn't have to feel inherently stiff like it did when I was growing up, and that Mandarin can, in fact, be a source of joy. A good recommendation I recently received: I can't believe I'm saying this, but have you heard the latest Jonas Brothers single? It's called ' Love Me to Heaven,' and my husband stopped everything in our apartment one busy Saturday to make me listen to it. If you, like me, had kind of written them off as Disney Channel heartthrobs or tabloid fodder or reality-show jokesters, you too might be delighted to hear this pop-rock bop. I want to drive a convertible to the beach with the roof down and blast this song the whole way there. Here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic: The Week Ahead Karate Kid: Legends, an action movie starring Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio (in theaters Friday) Season 3 of And Just Like That, a sequel to Sex and the City (premieres Thursday on Max) Never Flinch, a crime novel by Stephen King about a killer and a dangerous stalker (out Tuesday) Essay The Pedestrians Who Abetted a Hawk's Deadly Attack In November of 2021, Vladimir Dinets was driving his daughter to school when he first noticed a hawk using a pedestrian crosswalk. The bird—a young Cooper's hawk, to be exact—wasn't using the crosswalk, in the sense of treading on the painted white stripes to reach the other side of the road in West Orange, New Jersey. But it was using the crosswalk—more specifically, the pedestrian-crossing signal that people activate to keep traffic out of said crosswalk—to ambush prey. More in Culture Catch Up on The Atlantic Photo Album Take a look at these photos of the week, showing a swannery in southern England, tornado damage in Kentucky, a rally race in a Chinese desert, and more.
