George Strait is a superstar of country music. He rarely gives interviews, but he 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 of what will happen in the United States: the state is redder than ever, even as the demographics trend blue. And cartoonist Liana Finck finds focus and solitude on the Long Island Railroad.