Dec 24, 2021

Is the Big Apple big enough for two major crossword puzzle outlets? Liz Maynes-Aminzade, the first-ever Puzzles & Games Editor at The New Yorker, drops in to Xnerds HQ to celebrate the magazine's inaugural Cartoons & Puzzles issue (December 27, 2021) and its new(ish) foray into puzzles and games.

TNY's digital offerings...

Apr 1, 2021

Ok um sooooo why didn’t anyone tell us it’s already 2021??? In honor of the [belated] New Year of the Ox, we mic’ed up Milo Beckman (@milobela), constructor of the January 1, 2021 New York Times crossword puzzle; author of the new book Math Without Numbers; and card-carrying try-hard (his words, not ours).

Oct 30, 2020

Have you ever wondered...

• What makes a crossword, like, good, from an editor's-eye view
• If Laura Braunstein (@laurabrarian) is good at karaoke
• What Laura Braunstein’s favorite emoji is
• Whether there is a more graceful option than crying yourself to sleep at night when you’ve had your a** handed to you at...

Sep 2, 2020

Welcome to Crossbirds! We've ALIT beside Sid Sivakumar (@sid_sivakumar) who, in just the last three months, made his debut (6/22), dibut (8/8), and tribut (9/3) in the New York Times; celebrated the yearniversary of his indie crossword blog, Sid's Grids; and contributed puzzles to several charity packs and to xword...

Aug 11, 2020

What's it like to write a crossword puzzle for the New York Times, and why does it matter? Co-constructors of Saturday's puzzle and frequent collaborators (and FRIENDS) Brooke Husic and Sid Sivakumar spill the crossbeans on:

• Authorship in crosswords
• The editorial process at the NYT
• The joy of synchronized puzzling
• Plus...