What’s Good Wednesday: May 20, 2026

Read: “Angel Down,” which just won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It’s a World War I novel by Daniel Kraus about a group of soldiers who discover a fallen angel on a French battlefield, told as one breathless sentence from beginning to end. Kraus’s last novel, “Whalefall,” was about a scuba diver literally swallowed by a whale, and this one brings the same visceral intensity to the carnage and mud of No Man’s Land. The audiobook version is an especially wild ride. – Alex G.

Watch: The NBA Conference Finals. The showpiece event of any sporting tournament is the final. After all, that’s what decides who wins the trophy. But I prefer the semi-final. Why? Well, there’s slightly less pressure than a final, meaning teams play with a touch more freedom. There’s also two contests, which means there’s twice as much fun – and it’s likely that at least one of the rounds will be competitive (in case you end up with something like the women’s singles’ final at Wimbledon in 2025). In this year’s NBA Conference Finals, the de facto semi finals for the league, early evidence shows that both contests will be extraordinarily competitive. It took two overtimes to separate the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Monday’s Game 1, while the New York Knicks overcame a 22-point deficit to best the Cleveland Cavaliers in overtime in last night’s opening game. The two series are both best of seven games – expect plenty of fireworks in both over the coming days. – Zac

Listen: The Queen of Cumbia.Colombia lost a national treasure this week, as Totó La Momposina, a world famous singer and composer of cumbia and other related Afro-Colombian musical genres,passed away at 85. Throughout her decades-long career, she not only brought the music of Colombia’s Caribbean coast to the world, but also deepened her fellow Colombians’ own knowledge and understanding of their history and heritage. Listen to two of her most famous and beloved records,La Verdolaga, andEl Pescador. Luz y progreso, querida Madre Totó.– Alex K