Jo Imperio

“Comeback Kids” a portfolio by Eli Durst for the @newyorkermag ’s “America at 250” special issue. Over the last few months, Eli traveled across the country to Massachusetts, Missouri, California, Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas to photograph the distinctly American and remarkably intense world of high-school debate. The result is a portfolio of 400+ students— some future lawyers, policymakers, and leaders. Here in classrooms, they debate legislation about Venezuelan oil, the morality of nuclear weapons in space, and whether corporations should be allowed to acquire single-family housing. Massive thanks to the students we worked with, the coaches who let us in, folks at NSDA, and Eli for these timeless images and all of the weekends spent running from one classroom to another. ⏰🧐 Photographs by @durzt for The New Yorker Text by @jaycaspiankang Director of Photography: @joannamilter Text Editor: @davidbhaglund Print Art Director: @sunshtine Digital Design Director: @aviva.tny Digital Art Director: @supriyakalidas Digital Designer: @wiseshrimp Video Editor: @nolanzunk Photo Assistants: @lucyluphoto @clayton__steward__ @nolanzunk

“Out of Office: Barack Obama in the Age of Trump.” For @newyorkermag ’s “America at 250” special issue, Peter Slevin sat down with the former President to talk about how he’s spent the past decade, his evolving political role, and its limits. Thank you Philip for these extraordinary portraits, and to @joannamilter for the privilege of producing these. Photographs by @philipmontgomery for The New Yorker Director of Photography @joannamilter Deputy Photo Director @katzandrew Senior Art Director @supriyakalidas

“A Tour Through Central Park’s Cruising Grounds.” In this week’s Photo Booth, Vince Aletti writes about @arthur_tress_official ’s new book “The Ramble, NYC 1969” published by @stanleybarkerbooks . Big thanks to @vincealetti & @noelletheard 🌟

Critical Distance: A glimpse of the New Yorker writers who hold the culture to account. Portfolio by @renaldiphotos in the September 1 & 8 Centenary issue. In celebration of the magazine’s Culture-themed Centenary issue, @joannamilter asked Richard to photograph The New Yorker’s critics and culture writers. “Some of these writers produce criticism, in its traditional form. Others report, profile, annotate the culture as it drifts by. Many do all of the above, sometimes in the same piece.” Spanning a year long and involving travel across the atlantic and to ten states (sometimes twice), the assignment was far from easy. Richard took it on headfirst and with an 8x10 camera in tow, he travelled to our writer’s homes, nearby parks, and places they frequented, and spent three hours diligently photographing them. At the end, he photographed more than thirty luminaries, all rendered carefully and exceptionally in large format black and white film. Richard, thank you for lending your eye, skill and time to this project. Conceptualized and spearheaded by the best @joannamilter , closely partnered with David Remnick, @nblechman , @sharanmahesh . Edited in collaboration with @sunshtine and final web design by @aviva.tny . Grateful for all the writers who invited us in! 1. Rebecca Mead, London 2. Hanif Abdurraqib, Ohio 3. Naomi Fry, Brooklyn 4. Calvin Tomkins, Rhode Island 5. Jia Tolentino, Brooklyn 6. Julian Lucas, Brooklyn 7. Jill Lepore, Massachusetts 8. Lauren Michele Jackson, Chicago 9. Hua Hsu, Brooklyn 10. Vinson Cunningham, Brooklyn 11. Kathryn Schulz and Casey Cep, Maryland 12. Doreen St. Felix, Brooklyn 13. Amanda Petrusich, New York 14. Alex Ross, Los Angeles 15. Hilton Als, New York

Photographs by @sheth.ketaki in this week’s Photo Booth “The Vibrant, Disappearing World of India’s Photo Studios” by @mziaadnan . @newyorkerphoto Over the course of three years, Sheth photographed more than sixty-five photo studios across India. Most of these were on the verge of closing down, rendered obsolete by smartphones. Mohammad writes, “In each city, Sheth asked locals to pose amid the trappings of this disappearing world. Many of today’s studio photographers favor the ease of Photoshop: newlyweds who come in for wedding pictures can choose to be digitally transposed in front of the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, or Egyptian pyramids. But occasionally Sheth found delicate hand-painted backdrops stashed away in storage and put them to use.” Ketaki, such a pleasure to sit with you and talk about your work. Big thanks to @mziaadnan & @noelletheard . Full essay is online now.

“Curtis Yarvin’s Plot Against America” by Ava Kofman. Photographs by @drakeycake for @newyorkermag Ava Kofman’s profile of Curtis Yarvin, the neo-reactionary blogger whose outlandish ideas have taken hold in Trump’s Washington. One of his more controversial ideas calls for a monarch to rule the country. He considers it “the only answer to a world in which most people are unfit for democracy.” Kofman writes, “In another timeline, Yarvin might have remained an obscure and ineffectual internet crank, a digital de Maistre. Instead, he has become one of America’s most influential illiberal thinkers, an engineer of the intellectual source code for the second Trump Administration.” In March, Carolyn spent a day photographing Yarvin at a makeshift studio in Oakland. After weeks of briefing and chatting through ideas, she delivered these incredibly smart and nuanced portraits that touch on dynamics inherent in her work “Men Untitled.” In one image, he sits on the velvet podium like a throne with his feet hanging; in another, he leans on it with his arm behind his back. The pose is awkward, the eye contact is self-assured, and he rests his hand on the podium as if to invite someone to take a seat. Grateful for your eye and collaboration @drakeycake . Edited with @joannamilter

Photograph by @toki_39 for Elif Batuman’s “The Alien Eye” in the next issue of @newyorkermag ⭐️ Batuman profiles Sayaka Murata, the author of “Convenience Store Woman,” who has gained a cult following by seeing the ordinary world as science fiction. In her newest book, “Vanishing World,” Murata examines a society in which all children are born through artificial insemination. Edited with @joannamilter

Photographs by @kentnish for David Kirkpatrick’s profile of John Thune in the April 7th issue of @newyorkermag . Thank you Kent for the countless hours spent staking out the elusive Majority Leader.

Photographs by @alice.zoo for Karl Ove Knausgaard’s “The World-Changing Gaze of Celia Paul” in the Feb. 3 issue of @newyorkermag . “Paul has spent nearly fifty years painting her family, her lovers, and herself in a single apartment. Each portrait reveals not just a person but the power of looking itself.” Was a joy to work with @alice.zoo on this, and a thrill to edit with @joannamilter

A few highlights from my time at @theatlantic — two titles, three years, 3017 pieces sourced/produced/assigned… What a run! Huge thanks to the brilliant artists, photographers and writers I worked with, and especially the immensely talented photo and art team ❤️ Last November, I had the privilege of joining the team at @newyorkermag — more to come 💫💫