The Sex Queen of Paris
Madame Claude schooled high-priced prostitutes for clients such as J.F.K. and Onassis. Now she gets the Netflix treatment
Opera Pick of the Week
Munich’s Bavarian State Opera streams Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier, starring American mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey
Revisionist History
Churchill gets a bad rap for the 1943 Tehran conference, where Roosevelt and Stalin won out. Looking back, the Old Lion might have been right all along
Splendor in the Grass
The story of how Central Park and its beating heart, the bucolic Sheep Meadow, came to be
Notes from Underground
Harriet Tubman left behind no written history of her life, but her stories—of the Underground Railroad and the allies she made along the way—live on
Collecting Intelligence
The author and friend of John le Carré’s, whose radio tribute to the espionage writer is out now, traces the arc of le Carré through his most memorable books
Are You Savvier than a 16-Year-Old?
More than five million fans follow Sissy Sheridan. What does she know that you don’t? Plus: the great Lego caper, and more
Dogs—They’re Just Like Us!
Before quarantine puppies, there were Magnum dogs, photogenic canines immortalized alongside their owners by Philippe Halsman, Inge Morath, and others
Advice-by-Numbers
Professor and clinical psychologist Jordan B. Peterson shares his red-hot rules for life
Demián Bichir
The Mexican actor’s roles have ranged from Fidel Castro to one of Tarantino’s “Hateful Eight.” A trio of new films cements him as a master of variety
Border Crossing
Alejandro Iñárritu, the Mexican filmmaker behind the Academy Award–winning Birdman and The Revenant, is bringing the immigrant experience to V.R.
Curtain Going Up! (Please?)
Veteran British theater producer Sonia Friedman reveals what a post-pandemic West End will look like
Sonic Cinema
When you can’t make it to the movies (or just don’t want to), satisfy your filmic desires with these songs from Lou Reed, Lyle Lovett, Ellen Foley, and more
Dial M for Mail
If Alfred Hitchcock contained multitudes, his films contained infinitudes in the eyes of his viewers, who wrote him too many letters to count
Opera Pick of the Week
American soprano Julia Bullock presents a virtual recital alongside pianist Laura Poe
One Part Instinct, Two Parts Grit
Sharon Stone discusses sexism in Hollywood, the plastic surgery she didn’t agree to, and a near fistfight with Basic Instinct co-star Michael Douglas
Do You Believe in Magic?
A new book argues that some of the most astonishing findings in social science are little more than smoke and mirrors
What’s Love Got to Do with It?
HBO’s new documentary on the Queen of Rock ’n’ Roll tells an inspiring story of survival
