Two pieces by Annie Ernaux: entries from her unpublished journals and an essay, available in print only.

Also: a folio titled "What Was AI?" — asked in the past tense because the answer to that question will likely have changed by the time you read this issue. The folio is a snapshot of what it felt like to watch AI enter our lives, with contributions from Sheila Heti, Lauren Oyler, Christopher Sorrentino, Meghan O'Gieblyn, and Melanie Mitchell; new poems by Patricia Lockwood and Brenda Shaughnessy; a portfolio of Vera Molnár's computer drawings; and a conversation among Ayad Akhtar, Daniel Kehlmann, and Meghan O'Rourke.

Plus: Samuel Moyn on America at 250. Namwali Serpell on Toni Morrison's native figures. Sarah Thankam Mathews in search of lost memes. New fiction from Nell Freudenberger and more.