Sue Halpern
Sue Halpern is a staff writer at The New Yorker. She is the author of seven books, including the best-selling “A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home” and “Four Wings and a Prayer,” which was made into an Emmy-nominated film. She was a columnist for Mother Jones, Ms., and Smithsonian Magazine, and has written on science, technology, and politics for the Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and The New Republic, as well as for The New York Review of Books, where she is a regular contributor. Halpern founded and edited NYRBLit, the electronic-publishing imprint of New York Review Books. Halpern is a scholar-in-residence at Middlebury College, where she directs the program in narrative journalism. She has been the recipient of Guggenheim and Echoing Green Fellowships, and earned a doctorate in political theory from Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar.
Congress Really Wants to Regulate A.I., but No One Seems to Know How
Yet another hearing—this one with OpenAI’s Sam Altman—has come after a new technology with the possibility to fundamentally alter our lives is already in circulation.
The Fight for the Soul of a School Board
In a small Missouri town, a campaign to remove literature from the high-school library forced members of the community to reckon with the meaning of “parents’ rights.”
Federal Courts Battle Over the Abortion Pill
Millions of women find that their access to health care hinges on two conflicting rulings, and is seemingly headed, once more, to the Supreme Court.
Behind the Expulsions of Two State Representatives in Tennessee
How Republican super-majorities in state legislatures are undermining the democratic process.
What We Still Don’t Know About How A.I. Is Trained
GPT-4 is a powerful, seismic technology that has the capacity both to enhance our lives and diminish them.
The Latest Attack on the Abortion Pill Is Forty Years in the Making
If a Texas lawsuit prevails, mifepristone will no longer be available anywhere in the nation, even in states where abortion is legal.
Why Is Nikki Haley Running for President?
The announcement from Trump’s U.N. Ambassador that she is challenging her former boss in the Republican primary was met with some derision, but it would be a mistake to underestimate her.
The Promise of a New Alzheimer’s Drug
For decades, scientists have debated the causes of cognitive decline. Is an effective treatment finally around the corner?
Should Local Police Departments Deploy Lethal Robots?
A vote from the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco reopened the debate over deploying surplus military matériel.
Will Election Deniers Again Try to Access Voting Systems?
There’s no evidence that votes have been tampered with, but a case in Georgia suggests a particular potential vulnerability.
The Political Attack on the Native American Vote
Voters on Navajo, Apache, and Hopi reservations helped swing Arizona for the Democrats in 2020. In response, the Republican governor and state legislature have curtailed ballot access for an already marginalized constituency.
The Ongoing Electoral Efforts to Up the Anti-Democratic Ante
Republican-led legislatures and right-wing activists alike are making things more difficult for election officials.
Behind the Campaign to Put Election Deniers in Charge of Elections
The states’ secretaries of state are supposed to insure election integrity, but a far-right coalition seeks to transform that office.
The Election Official Who Tried to Prove “Stop the Steal”
How a group of conspiracy theorists enlisted a county clerk in Colorado to find evidence that the 2020 vote was rigged.
Are Crossover Efforts to Defeat Extreme Republicans Gaining Ground?
Utah Democrats are taking extraordinary action, and other groups are pursuing new strategies to safeguard democratic norms.
America’s Redistricting Process Is Breaking Democracy
Democrats have tried to keep up with Republican gerrymandering—and everyone is losing.
The First Defense Against Trump’s Assault on Democracy
When the former President tried to overturn the last election, Marc Elias led an overwhelmingly successful legal response—but some critics believe that his fight for voting rights could backfire.
The Threat of Russian Cyberattacks Looms Large
So far, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not involved the sort of devastating cyberattacks that many anticipated. But it’s not clear why, or whether that pattern will hold.
Breathalyze Your Way to a COVID Diagnosis
Bo Gehring, eighty, has helped Jeff Koons with 3-D imaging, invented motorcycle brakes, and made a hamburger fly, catching the eye of Steven Spielberg. Next up: a low-tech COVID test.
Why Are Republicans Suddenly Interested in Reforming an Election-Related Law?
The Electoral Count Act needs to be reformed, but not as much as Republican efforts to curb voting rights do.
Congress Really Wants to Regulate A.I., but No One Seems to Know How
Yet another hearing—this one with OpenAI’s Sam Altman—has come after a new technology with the possibility to fundamentally alter our lives is already in circulation.
The Fight for the Soul of a School Board
In a small Missouri town, a campaign to remove literature from the high-school library forced members of the community to reckon with the meaning of “parents’ rights.”
Federal Courts Battle Over the Abortion Pill
Millions of women find that their access to health care hinges on two conflicting rulings, and is seemingly headed, once more, to the Supreme Court.
Behind the Expulsions of Two State Representatives in Tennessee
How Republican super-majorities in state legislatures are undermining the democratic process.
What We Still Don’t Know About How A.I. Is Trained
GPT-4 is a powerful, seismic technology that has the capacity both to enhance our lives and diminish them.
The Latest Attack on the Abortion Pill Is Forty Years in the Making
If a Texas lawsuit prevails, mifepristone will no longer be available anywhere in the nation, even in states where abortion is legal.
Why Is Nikki Haley Running for President?
The announcement from Trump’s U.N. Ambassador that she is challenging her former boss in the Republican primary was met with some derision, but it would be a mistake to underestimate her.
The Promise of a New Alzheimer’s Drug
For decades, scientists have debated the causes of cognitive decline. Is an effective treatment finally around the corner?
Should Local Police Departments Deploy Lethal Robots?
A vote from the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco reopened the debate over deploying surplus military matériel.
Will Election Deniers Again Try to Access Voting Systems?
There’s no evidence that votes have been tampered with, but a case in Georgia suggests a particular potential vulnerability.
The Political Attack on the Native American Vote
Voters on Navajo, Apache, and Hopi reservations helped swing Arizona for the Democrats in 2020. In response, the Republican governor and state legislature have curtailed ballot access for an already marginalized constituency.
The Ongoing Electoral Efforts to Up the Anti-Democratic Ante
Republican-led legislatures and right-wing activists alike are making things more difficult for election officials.
Behind the Campaign to Put Election Deniers in Charge of Elections
The states’ secretaries of state are supposed to insure election integrity, but a far-right coalition seeks to transform that office.
The Election Official Who Tried to Prove “Stop the Steal”
How a group of conspiracy theorists enlisted a county clerk in Colorado to find evidence that the 2020 vote was rigged.
Are Crossover Efforts to Defeat Extreme Republicans Gaining Ground?
Utah Democrats are taking extraordinary action, and other groups are pursuing new strategies to safeguard democratic norms.
America’s Redistricting Process Is Breaking Democracy
Democrats have tried to keep up with Republican gerrymandering—and everyone is losing.
The First Defense Against Trump’s Assault on Democracy
When the former President tried to overturn the last election, Marc Elias led an overwhelmingly successful legal response—but some critics believe that his fight for voting rights could backfire.
The Threat of Russian Cyberattacks Looms Large
So far, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not involved the sort of devastating cyberattacks that many anticipated. But it’s not clear why, or whether that pattern will hold.
Breathalyze Your Way to a COVID Diagnosis
Bo Gehring, eighty, has helped Jeff Koons with 3-D imaging, invented motorcycle brakes, and made a hamburger fly, catching the eye of Steven Spielberg. Next up: a low-tech COVID test.
Why Are Republicans Suddenly Interested in Reforming an Election-Related Law?
The Electoral Count Act needs to be reformed, but not as much as Republican efforts to curb voting rights do.