I was nineteen, maybe twenty, when I realized I was empty-headed. I was in a college English class, and we were in a sunny seminar room, discussing “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” or possibly “The Waves.” I raised my hand to say something and suddenly realized that I had no idea what I planned to say. For a moment, I panicked. Then the teacher called on me, I opened my mouth, and words emerged. Where had they come from? Evidently, I’d had a thought—that was why I’d raised my hand. But I hadn’t known what the thought would be until I spoke it. How weird was that? - In the weeks before John Wayne Gacy’s scheduled execution, he was [far from reconciled to his fate](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1994/04/18/conversations-with-a-killer). - What HBO’s “Chernobyl” got right, and [what it got terribly wrong](https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/what-hbos-chernobyl-got-right-and-what-it-got-terribly-wrong). - Why does the Bible [end that way](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/03/05/big-reveal)? - A new era of strength competitions is testing the [limits of the human body](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/07/23/the-strongest-man-in-the-world). - How [an unemployed blogger](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/11/25/rocket-man-2) confirmed that Syria had used chemical weapons. - An essay by Toni Morrison: “ [The Work You Do, the Person You Are](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/06/05/toni-morrison-the-work-you-do-the-person-you-are).” [](https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/joshua-rothman) [Joshua Rothman](https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/joshua-rothman), a staff writer, authors the weekly column [Open Questions](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/open-questions). He has been with the magazine since 2012. More: [](https://www.newyorker.com/v2/offers/tnya01048?source=Site_0_JNY_NYR_DESKTOP_FOOTER_0_US_ACQ_SEGMENT_MYSTERY_TOTE_OCT_2025_ZZ)