Eightysomething
Back to the glory days of the Human League, Fine Young Cannibals, Tom Tom Club, Suzanne Vega, Madonna, General Public, and Grace Jones
Bad Romance
The author of a new book on the Borgias’ infamous personal lives uncovers the facts behind the Italian family’s long-standing myths
Face Value
A new book considers the fate of our most human aspects—the mystery of the brain, the expressiveness of the face—in our tech-bent future
Max Hastings
On the best work of Sir Michael Howard, the British historian who dealt high intellect and common sense in equal measure
King of the Left Bank Lit Set
Bernard-Henri Lévy on Trump, the Kurds, and the dress code he sticks to no matter the terrain—or how low his shirt buttons go.
The North Korean Job
The author of the first English-language book on Kim Jong Un explains the dotard-trolling dictator’s mysterious rise
Leslie Jamison
On the books worth obsessing over
Vive Maigret!
The complete adventures of Georges Simenon’s beloved inspector are now available in one stylish set
The Godfather of Comedy
After The Death of Stalin and Veep, Armando Iannucci brings a new comedy to HBO, and a new David Copperfield to the screen
All Fact-Checked on the Western Front
How much in Sam Mendes’s film 1917 is actually true?
Doctor’s Orders
Old-school remedies for winter doldrums, from (among others) Bobby Womack, Bobbie Gentry, Jean Knight, Elvis Presley, and, yes, Carol Douglas
Achtweet!
Useful German words for these difficult modern times
America’s Storyteller
A national tour of Black painter Jacob Lawrence’s depictions of the country’s historical turning points lands at the Met
Criminal Minds
The author of a new book on Dorothy L. Sayers reflects on the magic born of the novelist’s collaboration with her fellow Oxford women