The Crossword: Wednesday, January 7, 2026
Martial-arts icon who starred in “Enter the Dragon”: eight letters.
A beginner-friendly puzzle.
January 7, 2026
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Caitlin Reid has been constructing crosswords since 2017. Her puzzles have appeared in the Times, the Wall Street Journal, and USA Today.
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Video
[
Virtual Togetherness Through Partner Crosswords
](https://www.newyorker.com/video/watch/virtual-togetherness-through-partner-crosswords)
Social dynamics of the crossworld, a crossword meet-cute, and other ways to puzzle with friends while social distancing.
Crossword
[
The Crossword: Tuesday, January 6, 2026
](https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/crossword/2026/01/06)
A moderately challenging puzzle.
Shuffalo
[
Shuffalo: Thursday, January 8, 2026
](https://www.newyorker.com/puzzles-and-games-dept/shuffalo/2026/01/08#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
Can you make a longer word with each new letter?
Critics at Large
[
Do We Need Saints?
](https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large/do-we-need-saints#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
Divinely inspired figures have become a cultural fixation, appearing in prestige films, pop albums, and fashion. What explains this modern hunger for holiness?
Cover Story
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Barry Blitt’s “Guzzler”
](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2026-01-19#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
Trump’s thirst for Venezuela.
New York Journal
[
Mr. Mamdani’s (New) Neighborhood
](https://www.newyorker.com/news/new-york-journal/mr-mamdanis-new-neighborhood#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
The corner of the Upper East Side the Mayor will call home is both far and not so far from Astoria.
Shouts & Murmurs
[
AllTrails Guide to Cringe Mountain
](https://www.newyorker.com/humor/shouts-murmurs/alltrails-guide-to-cringe-mountain#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
The lower section of this trail is gentle and promises landscape features familiar to most millennials, including plenty of heckin’ puppers and doggos, the crying-laughing emoji, and adulting.
Book Currents
[
Reading for the New Year: Part Two
](https://www.newyorker.com/books/book-currents/reading-for-the-new-year-part-two#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
Recommendations from New Yorker writers.
Q. & A.
[
The Former Trump Skeptics Getting Behind His War in Venezuela
](https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-former-trump-skeptics-getting-behind-his-war-in-venezuela#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
A onetime adviser to Marco Rubio and Mitt Romney argues that the U.S. has been “too cautious” in its use of force since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Under Review
[
The Best Books of 2025
](https://www.newyorker.com/best-books-2025#intcid=_the-new-yorker-article-bottom-recirc_e4c43d4b-ed05-4bda-8497-a2cbe448cbea_roberta-similarity1_fallback_cral-top2-2)
The New Yorker’s editors and critics choose this year’s essential reads in fiction, poetry, and nonfiction.