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A Whole Different Beast

Down the Memory Hole

An arresting new biography gives George Orwell’s intrepid first wife her due

Rumbled

I boxed a speed bag—and came in second place

Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook

From Hollywood to Heaven

Exit Laughing

The producer of the legendary comedy show Laugh-In has one regret: allowing Richard Nixon to do a cameo

The Man Who Captured Sinatra

On this week’s podcast, Gay Talese reveals the story behind “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold,” his masterpiece of magazine writing

True Lies

Beware of the quotes on the backs of books, as publishers play fast and loose with critical reviews

Barbie Ruins the World

After watching Barbie make its billions, all the toy brands—from Hot Wheels to Play-Doh—want a piece of the action

Assignment: Sinatra

A legendary editor. A recalcitrant writer. And a subject that was both man and myth. The story behind the writing of what became known as the greatest magazine profile ever

The Barbie Girl Variations

A Spanish cellist in Sweden who moonlights on piano gives Aqua’s golden oldie a half dozen makeovers

Editor’s Picks

This week, don’t miss a comic-strip biography of Charles M. Schulz, a look back at Germany’s turbulent 1923, and the story of how Borges, Heisenberg, and Kant challenged reality

Stands to Treason

A look back at the 1945 trial of Philippe Pétain, France’s World War II–era head of state who was accused of plotting to overthrow democracy

Shark Tales

Restoring New England’s great-white-shark population presented conservationists with a new challenge: convincing beachgoers it was good news

An Actor’s Actor

Rob Brydon, who makes a brief cameo as Sugar Daddy Ken in Barbie, discusses choosing his family over his career and the fun of projects outside of Hollywood

Always Beckoning

Beck, laughing wild amid severest woe, is on tour through September 10, with upcoming stops in Texas, Chicago, Toronto, and cities along the East Coast

Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook

Au Revoir, les Femmes

A new documentary tells the little-known story of a group of 230 non-Jewish women of the French Resistance who were sent to Auschwitz

Not in the Old Kansas City Anymore

Picasso Unseen

Rare, intimate pictures taken by the Irish photographer Edward Quinn over the course of his 19-year friendship with Picasso capture the artist in his downtime

Joe McKendry’s Sketchbook

Hot Messes in East Hampton!

On this week’s podcast, Linda Wells reveals how big egos are bringing big drama to gyms out East

The Many Lives of Anna May Wong

Emma Seligman

In Bottoms, a comedy about a queer fight club, the young director collaborates with college friends, who happen to be rising stars in Hollywood