“I assigned that,” he says, sounding excited, “and I hope to run many more like it.” He’ll continue running Lapham’s column as well, but otherwise, he says, a new era is dawning. “Lewis has his own perspective. The magazine is a plurality of perspectives. He’s just one voice in the mix.”

Related:

• Archive: “The Imperial City”
• Articles by Kurt Andersen
• Table of Contents: December 12, 2005 issue of New York | Subscribe!