George Strait is a superstar of country music who rarely gives interviews but agreed to speak with Kelefa Sanneh, who marked the occasion by ironing his shirt. Lawrence Wright talks with David Remnick about the politics of Texas, which he sees as a harbinger for what will happen in the United States: the state is redder than ever, even as the demographics trend blue. And an Irish novelist's début novel investigates friendship and adultery in the age of social media.
Illustration by Richie Pope