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Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook

Opera Pick of the Week

The Met Opera honors Dmitri Hvorostovsky with seven nights of streamed performances, including Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, with Renée Fleming

Life in the Portal

The Real Thing?

Heart of Darkness

It was only after Robert Maxwell’s death that the world realized how far his criminality extended. Yet the riddle surrounding his final moments endures

His Younger and More Vulnerable Years

Leg Candy

Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook

Funny Valentines

Oh, the things we overlook for love. Herewith, honest tracks for faithful lovers, from Alvin Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, Dorothy Lamour, and more

Record High

How did Warner Bros. Records land the Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, and Prince?

Leading Ladies

Women used to be Hollywood’s stars. Today, even in the wake of #MeToo, the film industry is a man’s game. What happened?

Risko’s Sketchbook

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Unwrapped

Rupert Murdoch’s Rival—and His Mysterious Death

On this week’s podcast, a riveting look at Robert Maxwell, the father of Ghislaine; and much more

Sounds of Silence

A collection of photographs captures the calm that has given Venice room to breathe and its treasures a chance to shine during the coronavirus pandemic

The Victorian John and Yoko

Opera Pick of the Week

A new presentation of David T. Little’s Soldier Songs, starring baritone Johnathan McCullough and available for streaming by the Opera Philadelphia

All in the Family

Like his daughter Ghislaine, the notorious British media baron Robert Maxwell was a monster. How did it all start?

David Mamet

With theaters shut, read what the playwrights are reading. In Mamet’s case, this means William Bolitho (introduced to him by Shel Silverstein), Christopher Hollis, and Pierre Berton

Heroes and Villains

Stan Lee’s final days were as tragic and conflict-filled as his career was momentous. The comic-book legend’s biographer reveals the roots of his undoing

Ere Erdogan

Fran Lebowitz Has a Few Things to Say …

The inimitable New Yorker on lockdown, Trump, outdoor dining, and more

The Absurd, Redefined

Was Albert Camus offed by a K.G.B. kill squad? (Probably not)

Mitchell Johnson’s Sketchbook