The New York Times Magazine - 09 08 2020

48 Pages·2020·8.58 MB·English

August 9, 2020
August 9, 2020
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
A g
Aug
Aug
Au
Aug
Aug
A g
Au
A g
u
A gust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
st
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
st
u t
us 9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9, 20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
2020
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
2
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
ug
Aug
Aug
A g
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
A g
A g
Aug
Aug
Au
Aug
A g
A g
Au
A g
ugust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
ust
st
u t
ust
ust
u t
st
ust
st
u t
s 9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9,
9, 20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
2020
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
2

Even before the pandemic, the whole fashion industry had started to unravel. What happens
now that no one has a reason to dress up? By Irina Aleksander

s

s

wea
a
t
t
p n

forever

3
Copyright © 2020 The New York Times

Photograph by Adam Ferguson for The New York Times

August 9, 2020

7 Screenland Peer Review By Jason Zengerle / 11 Talk Padma Lakshmi By David Marchese / 14 The Ethicist Is It OK That I Haven’t Told My Parents I Was Fired?
By Kwame Anthony Appiah / 16 Letter of Recommendation Street-Casting By Jon Gluck / 18 Eat Rethinking Sourdoughs By Tejal Rao

4 Contributors / 5 The Thread / 10 Poem / 14 Judge John Hodgman / 17 Tip / 41, 44, 46 Puzzles / 41 Puzzle Answers

A bag of frozen convalescent
plasma at Long Island Jewish
Medical Center in Queens . The
plasma, collected from the blood of
Covid-19 patients, is a still-unproven
treatment for the disease, but
American patients have received
tens of thousands of doses. Page 20.

Behind the Cover Gail Bichler, creative director: ‘‘In this week’s cover story, Irina Aleksander explores why this moment belongs to sweatpants and is
fundamentally changing the fashion industry. We feel the bold yellow type plays off the humorous spirit of the image of a sweatpants fl ag, fl ying triumphantly.’’
Photograph by Stephanie Gonot for Th e New York Times. Prop styling: Machen Machen Studio.

20 Doctor vs. Doctor
By Susan Dominus / How much
freedom should physicians have
in treating Covid-19 patients?
The question has opened up a civil
war in some hospitals.

28 Sweatpants Forever
By Irina Aleksander / Even before
the pandemic, the whole fashion
industry had started to unravel.
What happens now that no one has
a reason to dress up ?

34 Solitary Soul
By Megan K. Stack / In 2013, Australia
sent hundreds of would-be asylum
seekers to a secretive offshore
detention center. Then one of the
detainees, a journalist named
Behrouz Boochani, told the world all
about it.

‘‘The Fast and the Furious’’ 30%

‘‘2 Fast 2 Furious’’ 4%

‘‘The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift’’ 7%

‘‘Fast & Furious’’ 15%

‘‘The Fate of the Furious’’ 2%

‘‘The Fast and the Furious Present: Hobbs & Shaw’’ 6%

Did not answer 36%

4
8.9.20

The magazine publishes the results of a study conducted online in March 2020 by The
New York Times’s research-and-analytics department, refl ecting the opinions of 2,250
subscribers who chose to participate.

Dear Reader: What Is the Best ‘Fast and Furious’ Movie?

Contributors

Irina Aleksander is a contributing writer for the
magazine. Her last cover story was about
Oliver Stone’s quest to make a biopic about
Edward Snowden. In this issue, she writes
about the collapse of the fashion-industry bubble
amid Covid-19 and one designer who saw it
coming. ‘‘I wanted to write about fashion as if
it were any other industry in crisis, such as
finance or film, and tell this incredible story of how
it all got out of hand,’’ Aleksander says. ‘‘Scott
Sternberg was so forthcoming about his own rise
and fall in the fashion system that I realized
he was a compelling guide to take us through it.’’

‘‘Sweatpants Forever,’’
Page 28

Susan Dominus is a staff writer at The New
York Times Magazine. She last wrote about the
audiobook stardom of Eduardo Ballerini.

Stephanie Gonot is a Los Angeles-based
photographer and director known for her use of
vivid colors and playful style.

Megan K. Stack is an author and a journalist living
in Washington. Her most recent book is ‘‘Women’s
Work: A Personal Reckoning With Labor,
Motherhood, and Privilege.’’ She last wrote about
the coronavirus outbreak in Singapore.

Jason Zengerle is a writer at large for the
magazine. He last wrote about Joe Biden’s
running for president during the pandemic.

‘‘Doctor vs. Doctor,’’
Page 20

‘‘Sweatpants Forever,’’
Page 28

‘‘Solitary Soul,’’
Page 34

Screenland,
Page 7

Susan Dominus

Stephanie Gonot

Megan K. Stack

Jason Zengerle

Irina Aleksander

Editor in Chief
JAKE SILVERSTEIN

Deputy Editors
JESSICA LUSTIG,

BILL WASIK

Managing Editor
ERIKA SOMMER

Creative Director
GAIL BICHLER

Director of Photography
KATHY RYAN

Art Director
BEN GRANDGENETT

Features Editor
ILENA SILVERMAN

Politics Editor
CHARLES HOMANS

Culture Editor
SASHA WEISS

Digital Director
BLAKE WILSON

Story Editors
NITSUH ABEBE,

SHEILA GLASER,

CLAIRE GUTIERREZ,

JAZMINE HUGHES,

LUKE MITCHELL,

DEAN ROBINSON,

WILLY STALEY

At War Editor
LAUREN KATZENBERG

Assistant Managing Editor
JEANNIE CHOI

Associate Editors
IVA DIXIT,

KYLE LIGMAN

Poetry Editor
NAOMI SHIHAB NYE

Staff Writers
SAM ANDERSON,

EMILY BAZELON,

RONEN BERGMAN,

TAFFY BRODESSER-AKNER,

C. J. CHIVERS,

PAMELA COLLOFF,

NICHOLAS CONFESSORE,

SUSAN DOMINUS,

MAUREEN DOWD,

NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES,

JENEEN INTERLANDI,

MARK LEIBOVICH,

JONATHAN MAHLER,

DAVID MARCHESE,

WESLEY MORRIS,

JENNA WORTHAM

At War Reporter
JOHN ISMAY

Digital Art Director
KATE LARUE

Designers
CLAUDIA RUBÍN,

RACHEL WILLEY
Deputy Director of Photography
JESSICA DIMSON

Senior Photo Editor
AMY KELLNER

Photo Editor
KRISTEN GEISLER

Contributing Photo Editor
DAVID CARTHAS

Photo Assistant
PIA PETERSON

Copy Chief
ROB HOERBURGER

Copy Editors
HARVEY DICKSON,

DANIEL FROMSON,

MARGARET PREBULA,

ANDREW WILLETT

Head of Research
NANDI RODRIGO

Research Editors
ALEX CARP,

CYNTHIA COTTS,

JAMIE FISHER,

LU FONG,

TIM HODLER,

ROBERT LIGUORI,

LIA MILLER,

STEVEN STERN,

MARK VAN DE WALLE,

BILL VOURVOULIAS

Production Chief
ANICK PLEVEN

Production Editors
PATTY RUSH,

HILARY SHANAHAN

Managing Director,
MARILYN McCAULEY

Specialty Printing

Manager, Magazine Layout
THOMAS GILLESPIE

Editorial Administrator
LIZ GERECITANO BRINN

Editorial Assistant
ALEXANDER SAMAHA

NYT MAG LABS

Editorial Director
CAITLIN ROPER

Art Director
DEB BISHOP

Senior Editor
ADAM STERNBERGH

NYT for Kids Editor
AMBER WILLIAMS

Staff Editor
MOLLY BENNET

Associate Editor
LOVIA GYARKYE

Designer
NAJEEBAH AL-GHADBAN

Project Manager
LAUREN MCCARTHY

5
Illustrations by Giacomo Gambineri

Photograph by Meridith Kohut

The Thread

‘I felt love for
the place, the
people and the
culture and
sadness in
thinking about
the history.’

Readers respond to the 7.26.2020 issue.

RE: CLIMATE MIGRATION
Abrahm Lustgarten wrote about how climate
change is leading to a destabilizing migration
of populations.

This was a beautiful piece of writing, and
it explains in great detail the impacts of
the choices we, as a country, make today.
I especially appreciated the graphics and

THE STORY,

ON INSTAGRAM

I started reading this
and stopped, I got
so sad. I will finish it.

@ellejack01

sensitive article. I felt love for the place,
the people and the culture and sadness
in thinking about the history, particular-
ly that the Tonga people were forcefully
removed from fertile land and made to
resettle on infertile land that could not
support them. I hope and pray that a
workable solution can be found.
Addy, Michigan

RE: CÓRDOBA PROVINCE
Noah Gallagher Shannon wrote about
the fearsome thunderstorms in northern
Argentina and the scientists who chase them.

Amazing article. We passed through the
area in February, on a double-decker bus
from Mendoza to Buenos Aires. Indeed,
there were powerful storms to the north
of us — in the direction of Córdoba.
Like Patagonia, it is a vast area of open
spaces where one learns to anticipate and
respect the weather.
Dirk Durstein, Wilmington, Del.

I left the front page of the paper feeling
depressed about the world, but this article
has completely reinvigorated me. Science
got us out of the darkness of superstition
and religious overbearing. It will do so
again. Thank you for this wonderful piece!
It is not a contradiction in terms to say,
‘‘Thank God for science.’’
Amy Haible, Harpswell, Maine

Wonderful article. Well researched,
informative and beautifully written. It was
as if I were standing in the pampas look-
ing at a foreboding storm on the horizon.
These dark tempests are an ominous sign
of a changing climate.
Mark, El Paso

how well the writers explained that the
eff ects of climate change go far beyond
sea-level rise.
Marie

RE: KARIBA DAM
Namwali Serpell wrote about the history of
the dam in the Zambezi River Valley.

An amazing article, thanks for doing it.
When I was a boy in Canada in the early
’60s, we watched BBC fi lms featuring the
reclamation of wildlife as the waters rose
on this project. All these years later, as
an adult, it’s good to explore the human
and political past and especially futures
of the area.
John Arthur Feesey, Vancouver

As an electrical engineer who has worked
at Kariba Power Station, I salute the great
engineers for what was then a technologi-
cal marvel. As a Zambian, I salute Namwali
Serpell for a sensitive perspective from
a little-explored angle. She’s an eloquent
advocate for many amorphous historical
misgivings that persist to this day.
Russell, Lusaka, Zambia

Beautifully written. My spouse and I
lived in Zambia for six years, 1972-78. I
enjoyed reading this very informative and

I was part of the RELAMPAGO team
leading the hydrometeorological impacts.
You made me relive this amazing expe-
rience. Beautifully written article and
amazing photographs!
Francina, Champaign

The best I have read on the subject of
‘‘monster storms’’ because of the thor-
oughly diagramed layout of how these
storms form, how meteorologists are
adapting to acquire and expand their
predictive facility and the inclusion of
the eff ects of terrain in storm formation.
The photos perfectly support the article,
to where they merge with it.
Allen, Philadelphia

While I second the positive comments on
the article 100 percent, I’m struck by the
quality of the photography, in and of itself
and in its support of the concepts. Black
and white was the way to go for emphasiz-
ing the sky over the land and for bringing
out the details of the cloud structure. I
love the composition that shows just how

vast the landscape can be — supporting
that scale as part of the equation.
Bruce, Maine

CORRECTION:
An article on July 26 about the Kariba
Dam, on the border between Zambia and
Zimbabwe, misstated an aspect of the dam.
Erosion threatens the foundation; it is not
the case that the foundation is eroded. Th e
article also misstated the location of a future
dam. It will be on a tributary of the Zambezi
River, not on the Zambezi River. And the
trees in Lake Kariba are dead trees; they
do not continue to grow.

Send your thoughts to