Nike’s move to cut jobs next year highlights a growing company practice: a layoff announcement with few details, and plenty of worrying and guessing (on.wsj.com)
One piece of avoid to avoid family fights over money: Record each gift to children and grandchildren and let everyone know whether it counts against an inheritance (on.wsj.com)
Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike this week has resulted in fresh scrutiny of the shaky and secretive supply chain for lethal injection drugs (on.wsj.com)
A new White House task force will have 120 days to report on the risks of artificial intelligence and come up with decisions on what responsibility the federal government has (on.wsj.com)
Restaurant Review: Trudie’s Tavern - The new spot in Brooklyn joins its siblings, Gertrude’s and Gertie, as a bastion of playfully Ashkenazi-ish cooking. (www.newyorker.com)
The Battle to Pass a Billionaire Tax - Most Democratic voters say that they favor a wealth tax, but a California ballot initiative has plenty of liberal opponents. (www.newyorker.com)
ICE Is Everywhere and Acting with Impunity - Arrests have reached a record high—nearly fifty-one thousand in August alone—with agents conducting operations nationwide at hospitals, at airports, and outside schools. (www.newyorker.com)
“A Very Safe Place,” by Rachel Heng - No sooner did the words leave his mouth than the man’s eyelids fluttered open. “No . . . police,” he said. (www.newyorker.com)
Christa Pike and the Absurdity of Humane Execution - A witness said that what happened in Tennessee’s death chamber this week was “not normal.” Of course it wasn’t. (www.newyorker.com)
Why Adults Are Playing with Toys - After decades of depending on customers who had to beg their parents for pocket money—and who would eventually grow up—the toy industry has found a savior in “kid-ults.” (www.newyorker.com)
Let Cathy Ames Be a Monster - In the captivating new “East of Eden,” only one note rings false: the softening of John Steinbeck’s most evil character. (www.newyorker.com)
The Constant Rediscovery of Barbara Trapido - The cult novelist is planning a sequel to “Brother of the More Famous Jack.” What accounts for her persistent appeal? (www.newyorker.com)
Olive Garden Is the Real True North - Two guys created a compass that points to the restaurant’s Times Square location. On a trek rivalling the Odyssey—and with breadsticks on the line—they navigate all the way from Staten Island. (www.newyorker.com)
Gerald Cyrus’s Magnificent Images of Black Life - Cyrus began consistently documenting New York City in the nineties. His images of Harlem—its streets, its jazz clubs, its dark, soulful nights—evoke the place like nothing else. (www.newyorker.com)
“The Swan” Gets a Superficial Reckoning - A new documentary about the reality series, which gave participants extreme makeovers before pitting them against one another in a beauty pageant, fails to grapple with the show’s cruelty, or with the culture that enabled it. (www.newyorker.com)
Can Europe Still Trust America? - Russia is escalating its provocations in NATO territory. Poland''s foreign minister has a message for the U.S.: “You may have affairs elsewhere, but to us, Europe, you are married.” (www.newyorker.com)
An American Journalist Imprisoned as a Spy in Russia - Evan Gershkovich, a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal who was convicted on false charges of espionage, talks about his time in a Russian prison. (www.newyorker.com)
Jeremy Strong on Playing Mark Zuckerberg and Other Unpopular Characters - One of the great actors of the era on finding sympathy for Mark Zuckerberg, Kendall Roy, and Roy Cohn—and why the New Yorker Profile still stings. (www.newyorker.com)
The New York Film Festival, Week Two: Loose Talk, Bold Action - New movies from around the world treat sharp-minded talkers of all ages as agents of drama and danger. (www.newyorker.com)
Justine Kurland’s Photographs Keep Us on Edge - Also: the progressive R. & B. of Kelela, the art of Jessica Lange, the Australian Ballet on Oscar Wilde, and more. (www.newyorker.com)
The Quiet Unravelling of a Haitian Life in America - Emmanuella was the only one in her family on Temporary Protected Status. Now that it’s gone, she’s leaving her job without a word, desperately dating to find a husband, and beginning to go underground. (www.newyorker.com)
The Well-Funded Fight to Keep Latinos Voting Republican - Amid deportations and Trump’s lagging popularity, one Koch-backed group has recruited Michigan Latinos to reach more than a hundred thousand voters for Mike Rogers. (www.newyorker.com)