—Leo Lasdun, editorial production associate
“Brideshead Revisited,” by Evelyn Waugh, narrated by Jeremy Irons
Jeremy Irons puts his “Lion King” voice-actor skills to impressive use in the audiobook version of “Brideshead Revisited.” Evelyn Waugh’s story of a man navigating his way through an English Catholic family is beautifully and heartbreakingly rendered in prose, but listening to Irons perform it is something else. Having portrayed the book’s narrator, Charles Ryder, in the wonderful 1981 TV serial, Irons uses his familiarity with the characters to full effect. He adds a certain airiness to his voice to become immediately recognizable as Sebastian, or a slight aloofness to embody Julia. One is carried along by that voice, which is soothingly smooth, and arresting in its beauty.
—Lily Healey, senior developer
“Riding the Elephant,” by Craig Ferguson, read by the author
The best audiobooks get you so tuned in you can anticipate when the performer will take a breath. An author who also performs his own work—who writes for the ear and has the dexterity to be a captivating narrator—is a special kind of entertainer. Craig Ferguson handles this dual challenge by guiding listeners from one laughing fit to the next, with his signature sounds-drunk delivery. He is generous with his callousness, but he matches his insults with a funny devotion to those whom he is insulting. Life, as the author describes it, is an elephant—you don’t really have any control if it runs off course. His skill as a performer and memoirist, high in spirited comedy and Scottish cursing, leaves the listener wondering whether the stampede of their own runaway elephant may one day be just another funny story.
—Jasper Lo, senior fact checker
“Gideon the Ninth,” by Tamsyn Muir, narrated by Moira Quirk
Be warned of the first entry in Muir’s “Locked Tomb” series, a set of sci-fi books about necromancers in space: the author drops you into the world with minimal explanation. But if you accept that you’ll be confused at the beginning and go along for the ride, the ending is very rewarding. (Jesmyn Ward recommended the second book in the series in her recent list of books that bewilder.) The reader, Moira Quirk, does an amazing job creating different character voices, making it possible for the listener to not just follow along but also to get fully invested. I found myself going out of my way to listen to it, instead of just having it on in the background during a commute or while taking care of chores.
—Sara Nies, puzzles-and-games producer
“The Bonfire of the Vanities,” by Tom Wolfe, narrated by Joe Barrett
If you have an unfathomably long drive in your future, may I recommend using it to tackle Tom Wolfe’s prescient epic “The Bonfire of the Vanities,” which centers on a bond trader named Sherman McCoy. Joe Barrett’s excellent narration is an ideal guide for Wolfe’s rollicking racial and class drama, leading you through Park Avenue parties dotted with “social X-rays.” He seamlessly toggles from the comforting voice of the omnipresent narrator to the guttural yelling of Wall Street’s élite. Barrett’s timbre immerses you completely in the trenches of New York City in the nineteen-eighties—and you won’t soon forget what the character Maria Ruskin sounds like, as she screams “Shuh-man” in her grating Southern accent, demoralizing our “Master of the Universe” in the process. You’ll hardly believe twenty-seven hours have passed.
—Sigrid Dilley, associate managing editor
Editor’s Pick
Illustration by Derek Abella
Sniffies Translates Cruising for the Digital Age
Dating apps have, over time, become their own form of labor, requiring attractive photographs, a clever bio, and hours of scrolling. Instead, cruising—the search for impersonal sex in public places—offers “qualities of anonymity and spontaneity” that feel particularly appealing in the digital era, Emily Witt writes. Enter Sniffies, accessible via the web, where users can log on anonymously and get a real-time sexual map of their neighborhood. Read the story »
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How Bad Is It?
Columbia University settled with the Trump Administration over claims that the school had been discriminatory and had failed to protect Jewish students. It will pay more than $200 million, and, as part of the agreement, the government will unfreeze some of the school’s federal funding.
Just how bad is it? “Deals between the government and regulated entities, whether universities or companies, to settle legal investigations are common,” Jeannie Suk Gersen, a New Yorker contributor and professor at Harvard Law School, told us over e-mail. “But this one resembles extortion. It began with the government announcing preëmptive cutoff of funds to Columbia without even pretending to undertake the required legal process to determine whether the university had violated civil-rights statutes. This agreement could set a precedent for regulating universities—and who knows what other entities—not by law but by shakedown.”
Cartoon by Roland High
Puzzles & Games
P.S. “South Park” premièred its twenty-seventh season last night, days after its creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, finalized a $1.5-billion streaming deal with Paramount. The first episode, unsurprisingly, ruthlessly mocked the network’s recent settlement with President Trump. Watch Bill Hader, who writes for “South Park,” talk about how some of the show’s most incendiary jokes get created.