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The Athletic


For sports fans in the U.S., fall might be the best time of the year—baseball’s pennant races are full throttle, football is back, and N.B.A. chatter is nonstop. (And let’s not forget hockey—that game that was invented so Canadians would have a warm place to fight during the winter.) As most cities have lost in-depth local sports coverage, the Athletic has emerged like a top draft pick come to revitalize fans who had abandoned hope. Covering 47 cities in the U.S. (as well as Canada and the U.K.), it has quickly become the must-have app no matter the games you follow. Because it is completely customizable, it lets you do what you do best as a fan—go deep, deep, deep on all things related to the teams you root for. Smart, nonstop coverage. What could be better? ($8 per month; theathletic.com)

Drive

1958 BMW Isetta 300


The Isetta is a sublime example of a quirky breed of micro-cars that briefly bloomed in postwar Europe, when materials were hard to come by and cars were just beginning to be bought by a new, growing middle class. Created by an Italian company that specialized in refrigerators, and built by BMW, the Isetta is powered by a motorcycle engine. (Top speed: 47 m.p.h.) And with only three wheels, it looks like something Monsieur Hulot would be seen in, blissfully unaware as he putters through the narrow streets of Paris, smoke from his pipe wafting out of the canvas roll-top sunroof. Yet it also feels suddenly, wonderfully modern: a vehicle made for city living in the 21st century. It goes up for auction September 7; bidding starts at $12,000. (bonhams.com)

Eat

RyuGin


Eric Ripert of New York’s Le Bernardin restaurant finds Tokyo to be among the world’s great gastronomic capitals. And when he goes, he seeks out RyuGin: “Seiji Yamamoto is one of the most talented chefs of his generation. His kaiseki-style cuisine balances tradition with creativity, and he uses regional ingredients in a brilliant, innovative way.” Ripert says if you have one dish, make it the bonito, seared over straw and fire. “This was one of the most unique and delicious dishes I have ever tasted. It’s seasonal, and both times I had the dish was in September.” (nihonryori-ryugin.com)

Paul Hilder (background) and Britanny Kaiser in The Great Hack, 2019, a documentary film by Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim.
Watch

The Great Hack


The Great Hack is a horror story for our times. After watching it, you’ll not only understand why it’s true that “data is the new oil”; you’ll realize how we all are the well getting pumped dry—and how our personal data (which we blithely signed away in the early days of the Digital Revolution) is weapons-grade material, being used against individuals and countries. The bogeymen here are Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, but the mesmerizing center of the story is Brittany Kaiser, a onetime human-rights advocate who helped build Barack Obama’s breakthrough social-media campaign, and then took her bag of tricks to Cambridge Analytica, where she signed the Trump campaign as a client. She’s maddening, fascinating, frustrating—much like these times we live in. (netflix.com)

Make a Splash

A Discreet Sink


If a home renovation is on the horizon, can we suggest adding the Victoria Petite Cloakroom Basin to your punch list? It’s a trim, tidy antidote to the recent—and, to our mind, ridiculous—supersizing that has gone on in the world of bathroom fixtures over the past decade. (Does anyone really need a claw-foot bathtub so large that it can double as an exhibition tank for a dolphin show at SeaWorld?) Fabricated by Catchpole & Rye in London, it looks smart in even the smallest spaces—including home bars—but also is great for mudrooms and greenhouses. ($455, catchpoleandrye.com)

Slate Money with Felix Salmon
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Slate Money


Slate Money feels like a true-crime podcast even though it’s really about the Actual Economy. Every Saturday, Felix Salmon, a Slate writer and good-natured British-born know-it-all, argues about finance, technology, foreign investment, deficits, taxes, and corporate wealth/greed with Emily Peck, a HuffPost reporter who is predictably liberal, and Anna Szymanski, a business consultant who predictably disagrees. It’s the perfect show for listeners who know nothing about economics but wish they did. (slate.com/podcasts/slate-money)

Issue No. 6
August 24, 2019
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Issue No. 6
August 24, 2019