The Flames of Corruption
A Romanian documentary might be the most explosive film of the year. And an Oscar front-runner
Not Harry Potter, But It’ll Do
Available online for free, The Ickabog, accompanied by whimsical illustrations from children around the world, brings joy to lockdown
Life After Boris
Marina Wheeler on her new book, her broken marriage to Boris Johnson, and raising children who won’t speak to their father
New This Week
Melanie Reid reviews playboy photographer David Bailey’s rollicking memoir, and new light is shed on the French Resistance in Patrick Marnham’s War in the Shadows, reviewed by Roger Boyes
A World Apart
Never-before-published photographs by Steve McCurry bring faraway places and cultures into radiant focus
Pawn Star
It’s sexy. It’s smart. The Queen’s Gambit gets chess (and the game’s inherent sexism) just about right
Take It to the Limit … and Perhaps Beyond
Hit the open road with Nena, David Bowie, DMX, and Herbie Hancock
Walter Isaacson on Taking the Cure
Plus, Christopher Buckley on Trump’s parting words and part two of our conversation with David Sedaris
A Day in the Life
On the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ breakup, early photographs capture the band on the cusp of fame
Citizen Mank
David Fincher and Gary Oldman illuminate the tortured psyche of one of Hollywood’s greatest screenwriters
Léna in Paris
With the publication of a self-help book that is outselling classics, millennial influencer Léna Mahfouf casts herself as a French girl next door
Two Lovers
Sylvia Plath’s biographer uncovers the poems her husband, Ted Hughes, wrote for her after her tragic death
New This Week
Roger Lewis reviews Douglas Murray’s biography of Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde’s lover, and Tom Burgis unravels a web of financial crime in Kleptopia, reviewed by Simon Nixon
Lockdown Pick-Me-Up
The deputy books editor at The Times of London recommends the best humorous volumes to take the edge off, including classics from Nora Ephron, Bill Bryson, and P. G. Wodehouse
Mean Streets
A documentary takes to the streets of Venezuela to chronicle the day-to-day life of a nation in crisis
The Best of Sedaris
An interview with David Sedaris about his preferences and peeves, on the occasion of his visit to the U.S.—and his new book
Margaret Atwood
The author of The Handmaid’s Tale is best known for her fiction, but she’s been a poet all her life. Here, she shares her favorites in the genre
