The Mice Will Play
The crawling creatures of The Nutcracker, much loved by the choreographer George Balanchine, make their annual appearance this holiday season
Amarah-Jae St. Aubyn
In her first-ever screen role, the British actress stars in Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock, the latest installment in his Small Axe series
Come Up Smiling
If the blues are getting the best of you, look no further than these tracks from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Tears for Fears, Andra Day, and more
The Game Is Afoot
Netflix and the estate of Arthur Conan Doyle are butting heads over Sherlock Holmes’s true identity
Mosul’s Moment
A new film from the Russo brothers, directors of Avengers: Endgame, tells the story of the invasion of Iraq through the eyes and voices of those on the ground
A Tale of Two Brothers
How Herman and Joe Mankiewicz won and lost the Hollywood dream
Talking Turkey with Chef Thomas Keller
A post-holiday treat of a show. Plus, should we really feel sorry for … millennials?
Ex Dysmorphia
All bets are off when your ex-boyfriend has a new girlfriend
Birthplaces of Cool
A new book explores masterpieces of architecture by Gio Ponti, Luis Barragán, and Lina Bo Bardi, and the people who live in them
A Symphony For Our Time
Conceived by the conductor Marin Alsop with the imprimatur of Carnegie Hall, “Global Ode to Joy” collects clips by concert royalty around the world
Huniford At Home
A new book collects the interiors of James Huniford, ranging from Connecticut barns to his own Tribeca loft
Back to the 70s
Bill Flanagan’s new novel is a music-inspired riff on time-travel classics. In an interview with the author, Tom Freston discusses going back in time—and the best age to do it
Gossip Girl Grows Up
Gossip Girl creator Cecily von Ziegesar sets her sights on the parents of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
All That Glitters …
With the coronavirus decimating book sales, Shakespeare and Company is launching a membership scheme inspired by the one that got the Paris shop through the Great Depression
New This Week
Richard Preston reviews Numbers Don’t Lie, Vaclav Smil’s latest, which uses data to understand our world, and James McConnachie reviews Ed Caesar’s account of an unlikely ascent of Everest
Old-School
Cultural and racist stereotypes aside, films like Dangerous Minds suffer from a deeper flaw. Two professors turn to its predecessor, The Corn Is Green, for clues
Life’s a Gas
Step back from this mad month and see things at a remove with music from Annie Lennox, Amen Dunes, Rose Royce, the Moody Blues, and more
The Flames of Corruption
A Romanian documentary might be the most explosive film of the year. And an Oscar front-runner
