You Heard It Here First
The voice recordings of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton offer a window into two of 20th-century literature’s fieriest spirits
Opera Pick of the Week
Daniel Catán adapts Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Rappaccini’s Daughter” for a Chicago Opera Theater Spanish-language performance
Malcolm of All Trades
Malcolm Gladwell discusses his new book, Mao Zedong, and why the statues of history’s bad guys should stay up
Hollywood Claws Back
It was a rocky year for the movie industry, but luckily for everyone stuck at home with little to do, some great films were still made. We recommend our Oscar-nominated favorites
Will a Divorce Put Trump in Prison?
Plus: a look at Bumble, the billion-dollar dating app; Bethany McLean on the Sackler family; and more
Nancy Reagan’s Cross to Bear
The First Lady dedicated herself to achieving a picture-perfect life. A look at her traumatic—and covered-up—childhood helps explain why
Emergency Exit
Come out of hiding with these songs from the Animals, Junior Parker, Lyn Collins, Animal Collective, and more
Marisa Abela
The Industry star on changing the way we talk about women, sex, and careers
Somerset Revisited
Evelyn Waugh’s beloved home hits the market
Scott Rudin’s Employee Handbook
Welcome to the team! Here are a few things to know …
Heartbreak Hotel
Photographs from a new book pay homage to the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, the dazzling seafront retreat that has played host to Ernest Hemingway, Jane Birkin, and Mick Jagger, on its 150th anniversary
A Happy Accident
Fame didn’t come overnight for Tony-winning actor John Cullum. The film An Accidental Star traces his road from the American South to the Broadway stage
Doug Varone in Ten Acts
The choreographer’s first pandemic piece is a mini-series of short films, set to songs from the 1940s and 50s and produced through Zoom
Opera Pick of the Week
The Zurich Opera streams a new production of Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Andreas Homoki
The First Lady of the Skies
Between her record as the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air and her disappearance a decade later, Amelia Earhart was the Eleanor Roosevelt of flying, championing women’s careers in aviation
Short List
Books to read this week, from a history of crime and punishment in ancient Rome to a novel of clashing cultures and an account of post–W.W. II recovery