On the Cover: Before, During, After January 6

Welcome to On the Cover, our biweekly digest of stories from the latest issue of New York Magazine.

The events of January 6, 2021, live in a strange sort of infamy. Absent any congressional investigation so far into what President Joe Biden has described as the “worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War,” the day has become, like so much in American politics, a confusing battlefield of warring narratives. Consider our new issue an attempt at clarity, featuring Michael Wolff’s detailed account of how the day unfolded within the White House as a riot raged on Capitol Hill; historical perspectives from Rick Perlstein, Mychal Denzel Smith, and Suzy Hansen; an examination by Talia Lavin of the martyrs who have emerged on the right in the riot’s aftermath; and Andrew Rice’s profile of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who is responsible for holding hundreds of insurrectionists to account.

The issue’s cover features a work-in-progress drawing of the Capitol riot by artist Robert Longo. Longo’s piece, which he is in the process of making for his debut exhibition at Pace Gallery on September 10, is based on an image by photographer Mark Peterson (who recently shot New York’s Andrew Yang and Joe Biden covers).

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• Jorts advice, Dacus dazzles, and lobster tank murderer: View this issue’s Approval Matrix, our deliberately oversimplified guide to who falls where on our taste hierarchies.

• 23 Across: Pathological liar, competing in the upcoming Summer Olympics? Play this week’s Crossword Puzzle.

•Tim Robinson Is Sorry for Yelling: Kathryn VanArendonk talked to comedian and SNL alum Tim Robinson about the second season of his hit Netflix show I Think You Should Leave, his time at Second City, and how his anxieties fuel his comedy. Read it here.

•Hot Plate: Grub Street’s guide on what to eat, drink, and watch right now includes Daniel Boulud’s oysters Vanderbilt at Le Pavillon, Audrey Saunders’s custom-designed sour glass, the Wolfgang Puck documentary on Disney+, and more.

Check out nymag.com all week for more stories from this issue.

• The Return of Movie Night: Vulture is curating another summer of Bryant Park Movie Nights, a series of free outdoor films running for five weeks beginning in late August. The first film of the series was determined by our NYC-based subscribers, and Clueless took first place! If you’re in the city (or planning a trip before summer’s end) mark your calendars to watch the classic teen comedy with us at Bryant Park on August 23rd.