1.
“System Reboot,” July 29–August 1
New York’s latest cover story examined Kamala Harris’s rise to the top of the Democratic ticket in a series of stories by Rebecca Traister, Gabriel Debenedetti, Kerry Howley, and Simon van Zuylen-Wood. The cover’s photo-illustration, which showed Harris atop a coconut, drew some plaudits. Commenter decouvrir called it “the most clever cover I’ve ever seen. I hope the articles continue to explore how this is a magnificent turning point. I want more of this excitement.” Others found the cover too flippant. “2024 is deeply unserious,” said @OJorgeDeAlmeida. Photo editor Emily Keegin questioned the depiction of the coconut, which referenced Harris memes, writing, “Online memes work in part because the original material is often embedded within the meme or linked. The joy of a meme is understanding its history & iteration. Without access to the original content, a meme is completely opaque … It is also important to remember that memes don’t fall out of coconut trees. They are created within social circles using the language & iconography already familiar with that specific group of people.” Traister’s column for the series ruminated on the thrill of having hope for Harris despite the uncertainty (“Unburdening Ourselves From What Has Been”). Persnlmgr said it “just nails everything everyone I know has been feeling since Sunday afternoon.” caitlinthomas67 called it “well written and makes all the points I believe to be true about how invoking history is a road to -nowhere at this point. Everything is different: we need to do something different!” Dorothy Shestak said Traister gave “voice to my thoughts with more clarity and eloquence than i am able,” while writer Lucia Graves added, “Dear Journalism God, if you exist would you please grant me a regular @rtraister column on uncertainty in politics and life? I’m willing to overlook everything else you’ve done.” In his essay, van Zuylen-Wood argued that Democrats should take J. D. Vance’s populism seriously (“J. D. Vance Is Not a Joke”). ProPublica’s Alec MacGillis wrote, “Such a deft @svzwood analysis here, worth reckoning with.” criticalrep observed, “The most alarming finding mentioned in this article is that the working class has not been actively drawn in by the GOP, but instead has left the Democratic party.” Commenter patrickr challenged, “Democrats need to take seriously the threat of every ruthless, unprincipled, dangerously ambitious Republican with a shot at getting near the White House, whether they’re named Vance or not.”
2.
“Hannah & Andrew & Anna & Ryan”
Also in the issue, Chris Heath chronicled the fallout of an affair within a tightly knit group of writers — all of whom then mined their entanglements for their work. For some, the story recalled age-old wisdom: “It’s important that you not allow yourself, or anyone you know, to date a writer,” joked author Michelle Dean. Essayist Colleen Mondor enumerated, “1. I’m really glad I’ve never been in a serious relationship with a writer … 2. This entire article is batshit crazy.” The New York Times’ Mattathias Schwartz called it “a juicy and agonizing meditation on life and art,” while The New Yorker’s Kyle Chayka said, “seems like everyone is the Bad Art Spouse.” Journalist Anna Medaris called the saga “wild (& meta & a bit hard to follow, which I guess is kind of the point). I struggle to balance the desire to tell good stories & the truth with the desire to not blow up my life. These folks blow it up *to* tell good stories.” Some readers found the lengthy account tedious. Emma Copley Eisenberg, author of the novel Housemates, said, “I went to this MFA program and even I was bored.” Read.something observed, “As muddled and circular as the story’s structure is, it mirrors the story’s subjects. I would have preferred a straight chronological narrative … but I guess that would not have adequately reflected the wreck of all this emotional abuse.” Memoirist Franklin Schneider, author of Canned, said, “this is why auto-fiction has been by and large a failure; 99% of writers have boring lives. 4 books about an infidelity that happened a decade ago? to use your life for material, you have to actually do stuff worth writing about.” Ian Maxton added, “handy to have the worthlessness of so much US-ian contemporary literature laid bare in one place like this.” Editor of The Hobbyhorse Adam Moody deemed it “great gossip but I will absolutely not be reading any of these writers’ books.” abrelosojos found room for nuance: “Insufferable people. I read every word.”
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