Short List
What to read in the coming weeks, from memoirs exploring masculinity and the cutthroat world of ballet to a look at the history and future of motion
WASP’s Nest
Terrified by the distinctly WASP-ish hell of lacking a life’s purpose, Cold War columnist Joe Alsop created a setting for his self-protective, civic-humanist fantasy
The Kids Were Alright
A new documentary explores the gritty intersection of skateboarding and hip-hop in 90s New York
Here Is New York
Douglas Corrance’s colorful photographs recall summers in 1970s and 1980s New York
Ascending the Art World
The son of British adventurer Bear Grylls swaps Everest for oil paintings
What If …
WeWork’s flamed-out founder, Adam Neumann, were made head of the World Bank?
Soul Stirrers
Tracks to turn on your love-light and give you a soulful strut, from Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Katie Webster, P. P. Arnold, and more
Safe Mode
The authors of a new book on the history of quarantines think they’re here to stay
Christine Ko
The Asian-American actress hails from film royalty, but when it comes to her own career, she’s figuring it out on her own
Gen Z and the Great WFH Revolt of 2021
What happens when offices reopen and no one shows up?
Opera Pick of the Week
From Boston Lyric Opera in a bicoastal partnership with Long Beach Opera, the game-changing miniseries Desert In
Comstock’s Ghost
Anthony Comstock spent his life trying to curb women’s rights. His traumatic history makes his mission all the more bizarre—and perverse
Short List
What to read this week, including books on J. Edgar Hoover, Joe McCarthy, and Roy Cohn; the virtues of forgetting; and the life of Rob Sedgwick
Good-bye, Blake Bailey
Book-industry insiders are coming down on both sides of the Blake Bailey–Philip Roth controversy, which resulted in the pulping of Bailey’s Roth bio
Opera Pick of the Week
In Lo Schiavo, Verdi’s forgotten Brazilian disciple tackles colonialism, South American style
Cinderella’s New Groove
Oscar-winning writer Emerald Fennell brings her distinctive voice to the beloved fairy-tale princess
