The Other Side of Britney Spears
Lili Anolik discusses what the new documentary gets wrong about the Princess of Pop
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
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?
Funny Valentines
Oh, the things we overlook for love. Herewith, honest tracks for faithful lovers, from Alvin Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, Dorothy Lamour, and 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
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
Record High
How did Warner Bros. Records land the Grateful Dead, Fleetwood Mac, and Prince?
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
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?
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
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
O Comrade, My Comrade!
This year’s Russian entry to the Oscars dramatizes a Soviet-era industrial-workers’ strike turned infamous massacre
Future Shock
Eight questions with Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction, whose new book contemplates the earth’s precarious future