The BTS Machine Lurches Back to Life

The biggest band in the world took a nearly four-year hiatus. A new album, “Arirang,” heralds their meticulously plotted return.

By Mitch Therieau

March 27, 2026

Members of BTS posing for a photo together and raising peace signs.

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New Yorker Favorites

Calvin Tomkins’s final piece for The New Yorker, on turning one hundred.
The man who broke into jail.
Sylvia Frumkin checked herself in to the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. From there, her fate was out of her control.
How much spring break can anyone stand?
“The Giving Tree” is sadder than I remembered.
Comma Queen: Affect vs. Effect

Mitch Therieau is a writer living in California.

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Pop Music

Mitski’s New Album Is a Dark Ode to Isolation

On “Nothing’s About to Happen to Me,” a reclusive woman confronts the inhospitality of the world beyond her door.

By Hanif Abdurraqib

Letter from Washington

The Zombie Regulator

As the cost of living continues to spiral upward, the Trump Administration is gutting the government agency built to protect Americans from financial ruin.

By E. Tammy Kim

Onward and Upward with the Arts

“Giant” Takes on Roald Dahl and His Antisemitism

Mark Rosenblatt’s début play brings light, shadow, and humor to its portrait of a troubled writer.

By John Lahr

The Lede

An Elegy for the Kennedy Center

A Washington, D.C., native says goodbye to the arts complex before Trump’s wrecking crew goes to work on it.

By Alex Ross

A Critic at Large

The Sexologist Who Unlocked the Female Orgasm

Fifty years ago, a controversial writer named Shere Hite taught us how to talk about sex and pleasure, selling books by the millions. Why do so few people know her name today?

By Margaret Talbot

The World of Fashion

How Zac Posen Went from Making Ball Gowns to Remaking the Gap

The fashion designer was brought on as Gap Inc.’s creative director to help restore the company’s cultural relevance. Has the Gapaissance arrived?

By Rachel Syme

A Critic at Large

The Perverse, Tender Worlds of Paul Thomas Anderson

The filmmaker behind “One Battle After Another” specializes in stories about people who are cut off, adrift, desperately seeking connection. His films are studies of American loneliness.

By David Denby

The Current Cinema

“Hoppers” Is a Happy Leap Forward for Pixar

In Daniel Chong’s cheerfully ludicrous science-fiction comedy, robot technology enables an environmental activist to walk and talk with the animals.

By Justin Chang

Under Review

Liza Minnelli’s Uncharacteristic Pivot to Self-Disclosure

In a new memoir, Minnelli discusses her life more candidly than she has before. But her truest self has always emerged on stage.

By Matt Weinstock

On Television

Chris Fleming Prances, Scuttles, and Undulates Onto HBO

In a new standup set, the comedian uses oddball physicality to locate the weird in the everyday.

By Rachel Syme

Profiles

Robyn, on Her Own

The pop star brings motherhood and middle age to the dance floor.

By Jia Tolentino

Brave New World Dept.

Love in the Time of A.I. Companions

Some people now have an A.I. bestie. Some have a husband. Some have three.

By Anna Wiener

New Yorker Favorites

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