March 25, 2023 – Air Mail

Black Market in Red Square

From Moscow, Andrew Ryvkin discovers the hustles and work-arounds that Russians are using to get their hands on Western luxury goods—and enrich Putin at the same time …

America’s Nightmare

From New York City, James Wolcott marvels at Rudy Giuliani’s ability to relinquish all shame, honor, and self-respect, and how he managed to disgust even Trump …

The Royal Me

From Buckingham Palace, Stuart Heritage considers the multitude of ways Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have forgotten their manners …

Sofa No Good

From Aspen, Emilia Petrarca reports on the battle between high-end housewares company RH and the tony ski town’s residents. When is too much too much?

The Lying King

From London, Patrick Kidd charts the half-truths, near fibs, and outright fabrications that Boris Johnson is spinning as he is accused of misleading Parliament …

Raising the Roof

From the West End, John Lahr reviews the delightful new production of the 1950s Broadway musical Guys and Dolls …

Fifty Shades of the 90s

From Los Angeles, Marisa Meltzer sits down with You Must Remember This podcaster Karina Longworth to talk all things erotic 90s, from Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman to Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct …

Inspector Gadget

From the AIR MAIL test lab, Jonathan Margolis comes to grips with the Leica of leaf blowers. Plus: a stroller-tricycle that’s the envy of the pre-verbal set …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Sir Paul Smith gives Brown’s Hotel a makeover … Bruce Bozzi gets Anna Wintour to laugh… a loopy new black comedy about W.W. II refugees … cookbook queen Alison Roman unpacks her travel routine … Lady Carole Bamford, Queen of the Cotswolds … an amusement park of dreams and fine art … the Icelandic pianist who’s wanted everywhere … The Glass Castle author Jeannette Walls answers our Eight Questions … Don’t you dare ignore our Attention-Whore Index!

Issue No. 193

The View from Here Putin’s work-around for sanctions

By Andrew Ryvkin

Read On

Boris on Trial The former British prime minister is desperately trying to convince his fellow M.P.’s he didn’t lie to them. How will the master of mendacity wriggle out of this one?

By Patrick Kidd

Read On

Rudy Then and Rudy Now Rudy Giuliani’s fall from respected New York mayor to Trump consigliere is well documented. But the cracks in his moral makeup were there from the outset

By James Wolcott

Read On

With All Due Respect … Unfortunately, yes, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have forgotten their manners

By Stuart Heritage

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

The Reader’s Digest

As we settle into the quieter pace of winter, take a page from AIR SUPPLY’s book, with our favorite titles and reading accessories, including customizable ex libris stickers and the cashmere blanket to curl up with

Shop

Photo: Everett Collection (Wiazemsky)

My Favorite Things The James Beard–nominated chef behind New York’s King, Jupiter, and Stissing House reveals the items she turns to while cooking—and more of her daily necessities

By Clare de Boer

Shop

The Attention-Whore Index A bankrupt Swiss bank? A perp-walking ex-president? Sometimes the world seems topsy-turvy, but, thankfully, the royals are bickering as usual. Vote now on this week’s biggest attention suck! Plus: global news you might have missed

Read On

“Sorry about all the talk of annihilation—that was just Keith getting carried away.”

Blow Them to Pieces The Leica of leaf removal! An operating-system update that will help you save face! A dongle that will up your headphone game! And more …

By Jonathan Margolis

Read On

It’s RH’s World Restoration Hardware, the high-end housewares company that recently rebranded as RH, is on a mission to colonize luxury cities. In Aspen, residents are drawing the line

By Emilia Petrarca

Read On

“And don’t you dare say you know how I feel.”

Anna Wintour The Vogue editor isn’t typically a lady who lunches. But on this week’s Table for Two, she makes an exception for host Bruce Bozzi

Read On

Solid Sender A new immersive production of Guys and Dolls in London is an all-around delight

By John Lahr

Illustration by Paul Davis

Read On

Karina Longworth Is Bringing Back the 90s The podcast host discusses her career, her marriage, and the new season of You Must Remember This, which will focus on Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Eyes Wide Shut, and other 1990s erotic film classics

By Marisa Meltzer

Read On

Law and Disorder As the International Criminal Court charges Vladimir Putin for war crimes, will justice finally be served?

By Christina Lamb

Read On

Can a 71-year-old American Musical Revive London? On this week’s podcast, John Lahr tells us how—and why—Londoners have gone mad for Guys and Dolls

Read On

The Little Paper That Knew A tiny local newspaper on Long Island’s North Shore was the first to warn us about George Santos. He still can’t forgive them for it

By Matt Kapp

Read On

The Hits Keep Coming After the success of Unorthodox, its co-creator Anna Winger returns to Netflix with Transatlantic, a black comedy about World War II–era refugees

By Alexandra Marshall

Read On

Read The Strangers’ House In prose almost as lyrical as the works he examines, Alexander Poots’s authorial debut excavates both the notable and the neglected…

Dine Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina From the outside, Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina looks like a bar. Or is it a deli selling cheese and cured meats…

Watch Shalom Italia This year marks eight decades since the Italian-Jewish Anati brothers—Emmanuel, Reuven (nicknamed “Bubi”), and Andrea—managed to evade…

Stay Brown’s Hotel In 1932, King George II of Greece, exiled and stripped of his titles, moved into a suite at Brown’s Hotel, in Mayfair, London. His rooms, which…

Speak Hello French We discovered Cécilia Jourdan through her charming Instagram account, @hellofrenchnyc, which is full of instructional videos…

Listen Higher Animals New Yorker columnist Michael Specter has spent much of the last three years thinking and writing about vaccines, infectious diseases…

Read The Strangers’ House In prose almost as lyrical as the works he examines, Alexander Poots’s authorial debut excavates both the notable and the neglected…

Dine Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina From the outside, Roscioli Salumeria con Cucina looks like a bar. Or is it a deli selling cheese and cured meats…

Watch Shalom Italia This year marks eight decades since the Italian-Jewish Anati brothers—Emmanuel, Reuven (nicknamed “Bubi”), and Andrea—managed to evade…

Stay Brown’s Hotel In 1932, King George II of Greece, exiled and stripped of his titles, moved into a suite at Brown’s Hotel, in Mayfair, London. His rooms, which…

Speak Hello French We discovered Cécilia Jourdan through her charming Instagram account, @hellofrenchnyc, which is full of instructional videos…

Listen Higher Animals New Yorker columnist Michael Specter has spent much of the last three years thinking and writing about vaccines, infectious diseases…

Luck, Be This Lady Carole Bamford has turned Daylesford into not only a posh grocery store but a signifier for a certain way of life

By Victoria Mather

Read On

Fine-Tuning In an interview, the pianist Víkingur Ólafsson discusses his affinity for Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, which he’s playing around Europe

By David Yaffe

Read On

Catherine Lacey The author discusses her latest novel, a fictionalized biography of a “Frankenstein’s monster of 20 artists and 20 writers” whom she admires, from Kathy Acker to Susan Sontag

By Rhoda Feng

Read On

From The Glass Castle to Prohibition Jeannette Walls looks back at her tumultuous upbringing and her days as a gossip columnist in New York, and discusses her latest book, a novel set in the 1920s

By Jim Kelly

Read On

Robin Olson On

Elizabeth & Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage, and Monarchy

by Tessa Dunlop

Read On

Tom Scocca On

An Amusement Park of Dreams The first-ever art amusement park—launched in 1987 in Hamburg, and featuring art by everyone from Basquiat to Baselitz to Lichtenstein—has since been all but forgotten. Ahead of Luna Luna’s reopening, next year, a new book surveys this feat of the imagination

8

*Above,* the gates to Luna Luna, an amusement park in Hamburg featuring work by artists including Keith Haring, who contributed the carousel, *top*.

The Austrian artist Arik Brauer’s carousel for Luna Luna.

*Top,* Roy Lichtenstein works on his Luna Luna commission; *above,* the finished product.

*Top,* Luna Luna by day; *above,* the German artist Monika Gilsing with her Luna Luna commission, *Wind Images.*

David Hockney’s geometric forest pavilion for Luna Luna.

*Top,* the artist Susanne Schmögner works on her Luna Luna commission; *above,* a model of the finished product.

Read On

Alison Roman The writer, chef, and cookbook author reveals her travel routine

Read On

Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editor

Elena Clavarino

Junior Editor

Jensen Davis

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson Walter Isaacson
Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson John Lahr
Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Pip Johnson Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Photo Editor

Emine Gozde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Intern

Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Account Manager

Dillon Freeman

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

AIR SUPPLY

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-Commerce Associates

Coco Paul-Henriot Roxy Solis

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

The View from Here Putin’s work-around for sanctions

Boris on Trial The former British prime minister is desperately trying to convince his fellow M.P.’s he didn’t lie to them. How will the master of mendacity wriggle out of this one?

Rudy Then and Rudy Now Rudy Giuliani’s fall from respected New York mayor to Trump consigliere is well documented. But the cracks in his moral makeup were there from the outset

With All Due Respect … Unfortunately, yes, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have forgotten their manners

As we settle into the quieter pace of winter, take a page from AIR SUPPLY’s book, with our favorite titles and reading accessories, including customizable ex libris stickers and the cashmere blanket to curl up with

My Favorite Things The James Beard–nominated chef behind New York’s King, Jupiter, and Stissing House reveals the items she turns to while cooking—and more of her daily necessities

The Attention-Whore Index A bankrupt Swiss bank? A perp-walking ex-president? Sometimes the world seems topsy-turvy, but, thankfully, the royals are bickering as usual. Vote now on this week’s biggest attention suck! Plus: global news you might have missed

Blow Them to Pieces The Leica of leaf removal! An operating-system update that will help you save face! A dongle that will up your headphone game! And more …

It’s RH’s World Restoration Hardware, the high-end housewares company that recently rebranded as RH, is on a mission to colonize luxury cities. In Aspen, residents are drawing the line

Anna Wintour The Vogue editor isn’t typically a lady who lunches. But on this week’s Table for Two, she makes an exception for host Bruce Bozzi

Solid Sender A new immersive production of Guys and Dolls in London is an all-around delight

Karina Longworth Is Bringing Back the 90s The podcast host discusses her career, her marriage, and the new season of You Must Remember This, which will focus on Showgirls, Basic Instinct, Eyes Wide Shut, and other 1990s erotic film classics

Law and Disorder As the International Criminal Court charges Vladimir Putin for war crimes, will justice finally be served?

Can a 71-year-old American Musical Revive London? On this week’s podcast, John Lahr tells us how—and why—Londoners have gone mad for Guys and Dolls

The Little Paper That Knew A tiny local newspaper on Long Island’s North Shore was the first to warn us about George Santos. He still can’t forgive them for it

The Hits Keep Coming After the success of Unorthodox, its co-creator Anna Winger returns to Netflix with Transatlantic, a black comedy about World War II–era refugees

Luck, Be This Lady Carole Bamford has turned Daylesford into not only a posh grocery store but a signifier for a certain way of life

Johannesburg

New York

London

Online

Fine-Tuning In an interview, the pianist Víkingur Ólafsson discusses his affinity for Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, which he’s playing around Europe

Catherine Lacey The author discusses her latest novel, a fictionalized biography of a “Frankenstein’s monster of 20 artists and 20 writers” whom she admires, from Kathy Acker to Susan Sontag

From The Glass Castle to Prohibition Jeannette Walls looks back at her tumultuous upbringing and her days as a gossip columnist in New York, and discusses her latest book, a novel set in the 1920s

An Amusement Park of Dreams The first-ever art amusement park—launched in 1987 in Hamburg, and featuring art by everyone from Basquiat to Baselitz to Lichtenstein—has since been all but forgotten. Ahead of Luna Luna’s reopening, next year, a new book surveys this feat of the imagination

Alison Roman The writer, chef, and cookbook author reveals her travel routine

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editor

Junior Editor

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

International Editor

London Editor

Communications Director

Columnists

Writers at Large

Contributing Artists

Contributing Photographers

Architectural Consultant

Head of Audience Development

Social Media Manager

Cartoon Editor

Music Supervisor

Photo Editor

Designer

Technology

Intern

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Advertising Director

European Sales Director

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Chief Merchant

Shop Editor

E-Commerce Manager

E-Commerce Associates

In Memoriam