When we asked Daniel Kent—head chef of Wiltons, London’s oldest and most British restaurant—to tell us about his favorite place to eat in the world, he said he had a few but that he’d really like to give a shout-out to his local pub in Stockwell, south of the Thames. “The Canton Arms never disappoints me,” he says. “The chef is always changing the menu with the seasons, and so I get to have a great game dish or a dayboat-caught fish.” He recommends spending a long lunch there with friends, sharing the “delicious seven-hour lamb and drinking some equally delicious beer.” Skip dessert, says Kent, “and move on to their very good wine list.” (cantonarms.com)

Katharine Hepburn once jumped into the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel while fully clothed. In the hotel’s Polo Lounge, Omar Sharif kissed Barbra Streisand in 1975’s Funny Lady. The famous banana-leaf wallpaper can be seen in 1978’s California Suite as Michael Caine and Jane Fonda walk the storied lodge’s halls. Offering privacy and luxury, the fabled bungalows—No. 1 was Marilyn Monroe’s favorite—are the essence of the Beverly Hills Hotel, and the recent restoration of Bungalow 9, Charlie Chaplin’s special suite, means that the complete set is now available to guests. While decorated with the mustachioed funnyman in mind, No. 9 still has the languorous Los Angeles glamour you’d expect. ($7,700; dorchestercollection.com)

Log line for a show we would be sure to give a look-see: “When a yakuza war threatens to rip open Tokyo, a detective travels to London to find his killer brother, the only gangster who can prevent the war, and bring him home.” Created by some of the producers of Chernobyl, Giri/Haji —which translates as “Duty/Shame”—is one of the most compelling (and darkly stylish) crime thrillers to come along in some time. A gorgeous mash-up of Japanese-Brit noir, it’s packed with surprises that linger in your mind for days afterward. (netflix.com)

In podcasts, nothing succeeds like failure, hence the popularity of the aptly titled Spectacular Failures. Along this vein, Cautionary Tales, hosted by Financial Times columnist Tim Harford, gleefully recounts forgotten blunders and blind steps. Some, like the British Army’s refusal to heed an officer’s advice on tank warfare after World War I, were so misguided they changed the course of history. Others mostly hurt the perpetrators, such as Irving Fisher (pictured), an economist who in his day was as famous as John Maynard Keynes but neglected to learn the lessons of the Great Depression and lost his fortune and his reputation. Cautionary Tales is a product of Pushkin Industries, the home of Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, and shares the same contrarian spirit and imaginative storytelling. (stitcher.com)

The fountain of youth is in Chinatown in New York City, just off Canal Street. Specializing in both Japanese and Korean skin care, oo35mm sells tinctures for disappearing all forms of blemishes and lines and carries cult beauty products that you won’t find elsewhere. While the quantity of stock might daunt even the most well-informed beauty enthusiasts, the expert staff swerves visitors toward exactly what’s needed. We personally love the Shark Sauce for hyper-pigmentation—no sharks were harmed in the making of this product, which contains sea kelp and other hydrating components and helps get rid of dark spots and scarring. It’s reasonably priced and it actually works, two qualities that are true of most of the store’s stock but rarely found in beauty products sold elsewhere. (oo35mm.com)