The Nazis’ Most Formidable P.O.W. Camp
Ben Macintyre, author of a new book on epic escapes from the German stronghold Colditz, discusses everything from Truman Capote to dream dinner-party guests
Lashana Lynch
The actress, who has played an Olympic athlete, a James Bond spy, and now a 19th-century warrior, credits her upbringing for her resilience
Open House
The James Rose Center, a modernist home in New Jersey, hosts an exhibition of art and furniture that align with the architecture’s Zen ethos
Ancient History
From operas on Nixon, Klinghoffer, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and women of the Gold Rush, John Adams progresses to Shakespeare
The State of Their Union
While the “bromance” between Barack Obama and Joe Biden has dominated headlines, the unseen tensions between the two have shaped politics
Staff Picks
Don’t miss Andy Borowitz’s account of America’s dumbest politicians; a hefty history of pop music; and the story of building Lincoln Center
Cynthia Addai-Robinson
To step into J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantastical world for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel, the actress found common ground with her royal character
The Hidden Highsmith
A new documentary about the author of The Talented Mr. Ripley delves into the writer’s love life
Long Live the King
Ahead of his latest novel’s release, Stephen King divulges his writing routine and explains why social media is a “poison pill”
To Catch a Con
Rogue Agent dramatized one of the strangest criminal cases in recent British history. Its release helped lead to an international manhunt
Tales of Two Grifters
From Jared Kushner to an impostor M.I.5 agent, this week’s podcast has plenty of bad behavior—and more than a few laughs, thanks to Christopher Buckley
Senses and Sensibility
From Beethoven to Bach, Handel to Homer, so many of the greats throughout history lacked the precise faculty their art required. What does it all mean?
Murder, They Wrote
This month in mystery books, sequels improve on their predecessors—plus a locked-room puzzle from John Dickson Carr, as thrilling now as when it was first published, in 1944
Some Strings Attached
The little-known story of a wartime British ambassador who appeased Adolf Hitler but saw the error of his ways
Catcher in the Wry
Eight questions with Christopher Buckley, ranging in subject from his comic pandemic novel and George Bush 41 to what his parents would have made of Trump
When Menus Were the Main Event …
A delicious new book offers a visual history of menu design from 1800 to the present
The Yellow and the Blue
Led by their American music director Hobart Earle, the Odessa Philharmonic flies Ukraine’s colors in Berlin
