10.01.17 Issue

Highlights

Feature
When ‘Not Guilty’ Is a Life Sentence
What happens after a defendant is found not guilty by reason of insanity? Often the answer is involuntary confinement in a state psychiatric hospital — with no end in sight.
By Mac McClelland
CreditFrom the family of Houston Herczog
Feature
How Fake News Turned a Small Town Upside Down
At the height of the 2016 election, exaggerated reports of a juvenile sex crime brought a media maelstrom to Twin Falls — one the Idaho city still hasn’t recovered from.
By Caitlin Dickerson
CreditHarris Mizrahi for The New York Times
Feature
The Mind of John McPhee
A deeply private writer reveals his obsessive process.
By Sam Anderson
CreditAndrea Modica for The New York Times
Feature
Here Comes the Closer . . . In the Seventh Inning?
Dominant relief pitchers usually just get the last few outs of the game. Baseball managers may be ready to change their roles
By Bruce Schoenfeld
CreditPhilip Montgomery for The New York Times

What I Care About Is Important. What You Care About Is a ‘Distraction.’
It’s a clever way to write off other points of view: Just suggest they’re getting in the way of what truly matters.
By Carina Chocano
CreditPhoto illustration by Derek Brahney
First Words
Letter of Recommendation: ‘Shark Tank’
Trickle-down economics that works, at least on TV.
By Jaime Lowe
CreditPhoto illustration by Matt Dorfman
Letter of Recommendation
Franklin Leonard Wants to Diversify the Box Office
The film executive on foreign crossover appeal and passing on “Slumdog Millionaire.”
Interview by Ana Marie Cox
CreditJessica Chou for The New York Times
Talk
Have Your Date and Your Garlic Too
How you should — and should not — cook with garlic.
By Samin Nosrat
CreditGentl and Hyers for The New York Times
Eat
What We Learn When Two Ruthless Killers, Heart Disease and Cancer, Reveal a Common Root
Understanding the link will involve unraveling the mysteries of inflammation.
By Siddhartha Mukherjee
Credit
On Medicine

Can I Spread the Word About an Unvaccinated Child?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on whether to reveal another parent is an anti-vaxxer and more.
By Kwame Anthony Appiah
CreditIllustration by Tomi Um
The Ethicist
All Signs Pointed to a Stroke. Then the Tests Come Back Negative.
When, at 94, she suddenly found it difficult to speak and swallow, the doctors had to explore more unusual possibilities.
By Lisa Sanders, M.d.
Credit
Diagnosis
Poem: Last Photograph of My Mother Laughing
Selected by Terrance Hayes.
By Sasha Pimentel
Credit
Poem
Judge John Hodgman on Decluttering Your Mother’s Love
When it comes to converting to minimalism, parents just don’t understand.
By John Hodgman
CreditIllustration by Kyle Hilton
Judge John Hodgman
How to Eat Spicy Food
Practice a benign masochism. Keep a dairy product nearby.
By Malia Wollan
CreditIllustration by Radio
Tip