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Dan Baum on WNYC

Filed under: Headline Shooter

Talking about New Orleans and the many continuing scandals of government, real estate, the military, etc., that we all know about in a general way if we don't live in a hurricane-torn place, but Baum's (and, I assume, Margaret L. Knox's) recent story brings it as close as you might be able to stand. The photographs in the piece, printed almost to a full spread, are especially shocking despite their similarity to other photos and other scenes. In one, a ruined bed sits in a ruined room, and something about the carving of the bedposts suggests clenched, frantic fists, barely hanging on as the storm takes over. Until I visit the city again there's part of me that still resists believing it, but I have to.

Thanks to Jon for the tip.

Later: Here's the magazine's complete Katrina coverage.

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Emdashes, founded December 2004, is a place where keen and dedicated readers of The New Yorker, past and present, can find related news and commentary: about people, subjects, and ideas within the magazine, and events and conversations outside its pages. Learn more about us and our contributors.

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