Hee-Haw, Taylor Swift!
It’s hard to recall a time when the singer wasn’t topping charts and bringing home Grammys. But her success was far from a sure bet
Paper Trails
A charming new exhibition at the Eric Carle Museum, in Amherst, pays tribute to an often overlooked aspect of picture book–making: endpapers
E. A. Hanks
Tom Hanks’s daughter makes her literary debut with a revelatory memoir
The Blood of an Englishman
One of the most sensational murders in recent British history becomes, in Robert Icke’s Manhunt, a moving disquisition on male rage, societal failure, and madness
False Prophets
How an investigation into a Mormon murder spree led one author to uncover the lurid world of America’s New Age movement—cult leaders, reincarnation, QAnon, and all
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a mountain climber’s account of sailing from Maine to Alaska, an examination of the air we breathe, and a look back at J.F.K. and Nikita Khrushchev’s Cold War–era diplomacy
Annabelle Selldorf’s Guide to Cologne
The German architect behind the Frick Collection’s new renovation shares her favorite restaurants, sights, and shops in her hometown
Hallucinating Graydon Carter
Following the publication of When the Going Was Good, A.I.-generated rip-offs have flooded the market—how do they stack up?
A Forgotten Master of Pulp Fiction
The only thing more noir than the work of writer Cornell Woolrich may have been his own life
Lunch with Graydon Carter
On this week’s episode of Table for Two, AIR MAIL’s Co-Editor embraces being compared to Buddy from Elf, explains how creativity could help you get into the Vanity Fair Oscar party, and more
The Mother of Surrealism
How one woman born into a world on the brink of turmoil inspired Paul Éluard, Max Ernst, André Breton, and the love of her life, Salvador Dalí
Hidden Treasures
An exhibition on the anonymous creators behind pieces for the best Paris maisons, from Cartier to Boucheron, offers a master class in the art of jewelry-making
“Brad Pitt’s” Kidney Transplant and the French Divorcée
On this week’s podcast, Mark Seal explains how amateur sleuths busted a multi-national cyber-scam
Palm Springs Eternal
Two new coffee-table books capture the timeless allure of Palm Springs, a favorite destination of Sinatra and Capote and a birthplace of modernist architecture
Private Predicaments and Natural Disasters
Meghan Daum wrote a book called The Catastrophe Hour. Three months before it was published, her house burned down.
Hailee Steinfeld
The True Grit child star returns to the big screen with Sinners, starring alongside Michael B. Jordan
Matthew Rhys Gets Personal
The Welsh actor discusses meeting his wife, Keri Russell, on The Americans—and his role in the new Agatha Christie adaptation, Towards Zero
Her Again (Historically Informed)
Bizet’s Carmen more or less as it looked and played in 1875, when the opera was new
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a history of Russian espionage, a window into the world of snakes, and a curated guide to the best of international cinema
