Gavin Newsom and the Frisco Aristos
While the California governor attempts to paint himself as a scrappy Everyman in his new memoir, behind the scenes, a powerful network of blueblood San Francisco dynasties has quietly buoyed his career for decades
Gossip Girl: An Oral History
In a new book, Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Sebastian Stan, and other members of the cast and crew recall the fan-frenzy surrounding the aughts-defining show
Nightmare at the Museum
A mammals expert for the American Museum of Natural History reveals how a former president of the New York institution used its resources to advance his eugenics agenda
Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Guide to Chiang Mai
The artist shares his go-to spots in the Thai city
The Dark Side of Paul McCartney
He shortchanged his band and wrote some truly awful songs, but Paul McCartney’s post-Beatles life succeeded in one respect—he carved out a carefree existence with his family
To Sing or Not to Sing?
Meet Luca Micheletti, fourth-generation thespian, first-generation star baritone
Anna Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov’s 33-year-old daughter is stepping into the spotlight with Idiotka, an independent comedy co-starring Julia Fox, Benito Skinner, and Owen Thiele
Remembering Michael Silverblatt
Salman Rushdie, George Saunders, and others pay tribute to the longtime host of the Bookworm talk show, who died this week
The Artist and the Revolutionary
Hunted by his enemies and haunted by his past, living in exile in Mexico City, Leon Trotsky began an ill-begotten affair with Frida Kahlo
Vik Muniz’s Guide to Rio de Janeiro
The Brazilian artist and photographer shares his go-to spots in the city he calls home
Lucian Freud’s Paper Trail
A new London exhibition shifts the focus from the British artist’s famous paintings to his lesser-known, lifelong relationship with drawing
When Eisie Met Loren
“She was the most captivating and the nicest and the most hardworking actress I’ve ever met”: a new coffee-table book collects the photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt’s timeless pictures of the Italian cinema icon Sophia Loren
Happy Volk-entine’s Day!
Stephen Miller’s new line of candy hearts are guaranteed to make pure blood run hot
Star-Crossed Lovers
Carolyn Bessette’s biographer talks to the creator of Love Story, a new mini-series about her subject’s well-publicized marriage to J.F.K. Jr. and tragic death
The Making of Charlotte Brontë
How a controversial biography of the Jane Eyre author overcame accusations of slander from the novelist’s hellish former headmaster, her critics, and even her father to establish her enduring myth
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a new history of China’s path to Communism, a re-examination of the Bernie Goetz subway shooting, and McNally Editions’ reprint of a forgotten dark comedy
Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo’s Guide to Chicago
The husband-and-wife team behind Esmé restaurant share their favorite places to eat in the city they call home
