New Yorker: Out Loud

The theme of this week's Fiction Issue is "Crimes and Misdemeanors"; Roger Angell writes about the perils of living in New York City during the nineteen-seventies and eighties. Here, The New Yorker's fiction editor Deborah Treisman talks with Roger Angell and staff writer Mark Singer about that era and crime writing. Also, Ed Park's secret password, and a song commentary by Marc Philippe Eskenazi.

This week, Nick Paumgarten writes about the Swiss climber Ueli Steck, who made a name for himself climbing mountains at high speed with no ropes. In a recent climb, on Mt. Everest, Steck and his climbing partners got into a violent confrontation with Nepalese Sherpas. Here, Sasha Weiss talks with Paumgarten and staff writer Peter Hessler about lure and lore of mountaineering, how the influence of corporate sponsorship has changed the sport, and the complicated relationship between Sherpas and Western climbers on Everest. Also, why David Sedaris is on his best behavior around guests.

This week in the magazine, George Packer asks tech-industry insiders why the vast profits of the tech world have paralleled a growing disparity between rich and poor, and how they think about their social and political roles. Ken Auletta often writes about the tech industry for the magazine's Annals of Communication column. Here, Packer and Auletta talk with the editor of newyorker.com, Nicholas Thompson, about the culture and politics of Silicon Valley. Also, Deborah Treisman channels Italo Calvino.

This week in the magazine, Emily Nussbaum takes a look at the latest season of "Mad Men." Here, Nussbaum talks with Sasha Weiss and Michael Agger about the show's triumphs, the problems with Don Draper's backstory, and why anti-heroes like Don dominate many of the most ambitious serial TV dramas. Also, Susan Orlean calls in from her treadmill desk.

This week in the magazine, the novelist Rivka Galchen goes back to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, where she did her medical residency, and writes about a doctor she had a rotation with, Dr. Joseph Lieber. Here, she and Jerome Groopman, who writes about medical issues for the magazine, talk about the training of doctors and about medical writing with the literary editor of newyorker.com, Sasha Weiss. Also, Joan Acocella on the new-burlesque scene.

This week in the magazine, Ben McGrath profiles the knuckleball pitcher R. A. Dickey. Here, Amy Davidson talks with McGrath and Roger Angell about the strange charms of the knuckleball (and knuckleball pitchers), and how they approach writing about baseball. Also, Ariel Levy on half-wild house cats.

This week in the magazine, William Finnegan tells the story of Mark Lyttle, a U.S. citizen from North Carolina who was deported to Mexico despite ample evidence that he was an American. Michael Agger spoke with Finnegan and his editor, John Bennet, about Lyttle's nightmarish story and what it says about our immigration system. They also looked back at Finnegan's writing career, including his early Profile of Barack Obama and his years reporting from Africa and Mexico. Also, the cartoon editor Bob Mankoff transforms famous paintings into New Yorker cartoons.

This week in the magazine, Burkhard Bilger writes about NASA's Curiosity rover mission. Here, Sasha Weiss talks with Bilger and his editor Cressida Leyshon about his career, which includes writing about Burmese pythons in Florida, police dogs in New York City, and short-order cooks in Las Vegas. Bilger explains how having a German engineer for a father shaped his interest in science, and how growing up in Oklahoma led to his interest into Southern subcultures (he's also written about coonhounds, cockfighting, and catfish noodling). He reveals how he got his start (writing love letters to his future wife), and how his approach to writing and reporting has developed over his career. Also, Jesse Eisenberg records a session with his therapist, Marv Albert.

This week in the magazine, Nick Paumgarten Profiles the novelist James Salter, whose first novel in thirty years, "All That Is," was published this month. Here, Nick Paumgarten and the fiction editor Deborah Treisman talk with Michael Agger about why Salter isn't better known, his recurring themes (including sex, marriage, and the heroic code of military men), and his unique prose style, which combines, as Treisman puts it, "ornateness and bluntness." Also, the night-thoughts of Lucie Brock-Broido.

This week in the magazine, novelist Hisham Matar writes about his return to Libya after decades of exile. Here, David Remnick talks with Matar about leaving Libya as a boy, his fathers imprisonment and disappearance, and returning to Libya in the wake of the Libyan revolution. Also, why more people are buying bitcoins.

In the magazine this week, Michael Schulman writes about Tim Minchin, the singer-songwriter-comedian who composed the music and lyrics for the musical "Matilda" (an adaptation of the Roald Dahl book), which just opened on Broadway after a celebrated run in London. Here, Schulman listens to and explains a few of the songs that made Minchin famous in his native Australia and in the U.K. Also, a phone call with Minchin himself.

This week in the magazine, Kelefa Sanneh writes about Dapper Dan, the Harlem designer whose flashy fur-lined leather coats helped shape hip-hop style. Here, Sanneh and Leo Carey talk with Sasha Weiss about status and influence in men's fashion, as well as The New Yorker style when it comes to writing about clothes. Also, some Fung Wah blues.

This week in the magazine, Jane Kramer reviews "Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat," by the British food writer and historian Bee Wilson. It's more than a book review, though: The New Yorker's European correspondent brings into it her own passion for cooking and her years of writing about food. In this week's New Yorker Out Loud, Sasha Weiss visits Kramer in her New York apartment to talk about cooking, kitchens, and why food is so central to her life. Also, James Surowiecki weighs in on Yahoo's decision to ban telecommuting.

This week in the magazine, Jeffrey Toobin writes a Profile of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who even before her time on the Supreme Court played an important role in shaping the legal framework for womens rights and gender discrimination. Here Toobin and Margaret Talbot talk with Amy Davidson about Ginsburgs legacy and some of the current issues the Court is addressing. Also, fiction from a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.

This week in the magazine, John Colapinto writes about Dr. Steven Zeitels, who has treated the vocal cords of many famous singers, including Adele, James Taylor, Cher, and Roger Daltrey. Here, Colapinto talks with Sasha Weiss about his own damaged vocal cords and the mysterious powers of the human voice. Also, David Owen on his Purell conversion.