The Cuteness Curse
There’s a thin line between cuddly and creepy, according to a new exhibition at Somerset House in London
Hot Coals
The German-British artist Frank Auerbach’s charcoal portraits go on show in London
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a biography of a pioneering classicist, a reissued novel about a secret World War II mission, and an account of the Russian Civil War
Faces for Radio
In the Know, Peacock’s stop-motion send-up of the public-radio set, is modeled on the NPR boobs you know and love
The Mahabharata of Literary Festivals
Forget glitchy microphones and cheap white wine. The Jaipur Literature Festival is the biggest and best of its kind in the world
Review Bombers
The influential, Amazon-owned Web site Goodreads has been infiltrated by scammers and trolls extorting authors and destroying careers—largely targeting Black and L.G.B.T.Q.+ writers. So what now?
Live from Laurel Canyon
A new book of photographs by Henry Diltz chronicles the story of the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, America’s own Beatles
Dominique Morisseau
The Tony-nominated playwright on how her father, a Haitian revolutionary, inspired her familial drama Sunset Baby
What Happens When a Nepo Baby Makes a Movie?
This week, Stuart Heritage looks at Lola, a film by David Beckham’s daughter-in-law
Extra Credit
Highly competitive, Da’Vine Joy Randolph transitioned seamlessly from Yale University drama student to opera singer, and now to Oscar nominee, for her masterful performance in The Holdovers
Another Universe
A new production of Nelken stays true to the late choreographer Pina Bausch’s innovative work of dance theater
Harsh Realities
A first look at Nicola Peltz-Beckham’s directorial debut, Lola—which leaves much to be desired
Vivaldi In His Element
Il Giustino lands at Stockholm’s Drottningholm Court Theater
Outside the Map
How George Kennan’s excellent prose opened doors for all types of writing, from war reporting to investigative work in Russia
Back from the Dead
The celebrated Nadia Boulanger’s La Ville Morte surfaces in Athens, then in New York
Kai Alexander
The English actor endured boot camp to play a World War II air-force pilot in Masters of the Air, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s new series
