The 3.7.21 Issue

Highlights

Feature
Life, Death and Grief in Los Angeles
Inside the homes and hospital rooms of those hit hardest by the pandemic.
Photographs by Meridith Kohut
Credit
He Was the Hero of ‘Hotel Rwanda.’ Now He’s Accused of Terrorism.
Long hailed for his bravery during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Paul Rusesabagina is now charged with being an insurgent leader. Did Rwanda change, or did he?
By Joshua Hammer
CreditMisha Gravenor
How One Looted Artifact Tells the Story of Modern Afghanistan
Many of the country’s finest antiquities were stolen under cover of war, ending up in elite museums all over the globe. Should they be returned?
By Matthieu Aikins
CreditJoachim Hiltmann/MKG
The Ethicist
I Don’t Trust Police Testimony. Can I Lie to Get on a Jury?
The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how far one should go to participate in the judicial process.
By Kwame Anthony Appiah
CreditIllustration by Tomi Um

A No-Recipe Recipe Manifesto
Trust yourself, follow the prompt and wing it. You don’t need a recipe to create a fantastic dinner.
By Sam Sifton
CreditHeami Lee for The New York Times. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop stylist: Rebecca Bartoshesky.
Eat
A Portal Into a Universe Without Covid
Concerts, beaches, crowds: Videos of New Zealand enjoying its summer feel like peering into an alternate reality.
By Brian Ng
CreditPhoto illustration by Najeebah Al-Ghadban
Screenland
Her Eyelid Drooped and She Kept Getting Weaker. What Was Going On?
Dozens of tests turned up nothing. Then a specialist had a theory.
By Lisa Sanders, M.D.
CreditPhoto illustration by Ina Jang
Diagnosis
Why I Started Wearing Head Wraps
Once you master the technique, every outfit becomes more interesting. Tying a wrap becomes an everyday celebration of Blackness.
By Nadia Owusu
CreditWidline Cadet for The New York Times
Letter of Recommendation
Poem: Pale Colors in a Tall Field
Carl Phillips turns loss into more than another sad song, into sorrow, which feels heavier and seems to matter more.
By Carl Phillips and Reginald Dwayne Betts
Credit
Poem

How to Communicate Through Facial Expressions
Don’t view them as an afterthought. Immersing yourself in the deaf community is often the best way to learn.
By Malia Wollan
CreditIllustration by Radio
Tip
Judge John Hodgman on the Whistle Wars
When a family whistles together, who gets to pick the tune?
By John Hodgman
CreditIllustration by Louise Zergaeng Pomeroy
Judge John Hodgman