A federal judge in Boston has issued a stark rebuke against what he identified as the Trump Administration’s violation of international students’ constitutional rights. But, first, the lineup for the 2025 New Yorker Festival. Plus:

• Ann Patchett on travel and mortality
• Bill and Ted pull off a pretty excellent “Waiting for Godot”
• Listening to Taylor Swift in prison

David Remnick
Editor, The New Yorker

In a few weeks, leading voices from the worlds of politics, movies, literature, and comedy will take the stage at The New Yorker Festival, our annual weekend of interviews, performances, screenings, and more. Guests this year will include Salman Rushdie, Emma Thompson, Christopher Guest, Jamaica Kincaid, Ken Jennings—and, we hope, you.

This year’s Festival will take place between October 24th and 26th, and marks a special milestone. All year, The New Yorker has been celebrating its hundredth anniversary, a landmark we’ve honored with special issues, events, and more.

Our 2025 lineup features a remarkable array of writers, artists, and experts in the news and culture of our moment. Jamaica Kincaid and the longtime staff writer Ian Frazier will reflect on how they capture the world through language, one of a series of events with such authors as Percival Everett, Ocean Vuong, George Saunders, and Zadie Smith. (Many events are sold out, but there’s still time to join the wait list.) Demi Moore, Emma Thompson, and Noah Baumbach will illuminate the craft of filmmaking in interviews hosted by the staff members Jia Tolentino, Helen Shaw, and Susan Morrison. And the magazine itself will come under scrutiny during the New York première of “The New Yorker at 100,” an upcoming Netflix documentary produced by Judd Apatow and directed by the Academy Award winner Marshall Curry, who will appear in conversation afterward with the staff writer Jelani Cobb.

From the world of reporting, the staff writers Larissa MacFarquhar, Rebecca Mead, Ian Parker, Kelefa Sanneh, and Michael Schulman will gather to discuss the art of the profile, a process through which they’ve produced enduring portraits—and, on occasion, sensational scoops. In the legal realm, the former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, who resigned rather than defend Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim ban, will join the staff writers Jeannie Suk Gersen, Ruth Marcus, and Amy Davidson Sorkin to consider the embattled state of the American justice system. At “Recalibrating for the Digital Age,” the writers Charles Duhigg, Cal Newport, and Anna Wiener will examine the potential of A.I. and other technology to make our lives better.

As always, there will be much more: musical performances, a podcast taping, even a trivia showdown between New Yorker writers and editors. The events reflect the breadth and depth we strive for in every issue, that unmistakable mix of seriousness, curiosity, and pleasure. I hope to see you at the Festival.

Buy tickets »

Earlier this week, a federal judge issued a ruling in American Association of University Professors et al. v. Marco Rubio, which challenged the Administration’s campaign to arrest, detain, and plan to deport pro-Palestinian student protesters and advocates. The Trump Administration plans to appeal the decision.

What does it mean?

“Tucked deep in Judge William Young’s ruling is an extraordinary observation: a President who so flagrantly allows his subordinates to violate the First Amendment is in violation of his oath of office and his duty to faithfully execute the laws.

The judge also said that he has no authority to control Presidential behavior. But, during the remedy phase of the case, which is the next step, I imagine he’ll have leeway to craft a solution—and prevent those subordinates from using immigration laws to suppress speech the President doesn’t like.”

— Cristian Farias, a journalist who writes about courts and the law

Ann Patchett was hesitant to go on a trip to Australia and New Zealand that she had planned because her mother-in-law, a close friend, and her dog were all in their final days. But, during a visit to a subterranean glowworm cave in New Zealand, it was thoughts of her own death that consumed her. Read the story »

“No decorative gourds in the soup!”

Cartoon by Elisabeth McNair

P.S. The primatologist Jane Goodall, who died yesterday at the age of ninety-one, remained optimistic about planet Earth, despite much of what she had seen. “I care about the future, I care about animals, I care about trees, I care about children,” she once said. “And I’m obstinate and I won’t give in.” 💚

Ian Crouch contributed to today’s edition.