April 22, 2023 – Air Mail

New Dogs, Old Tricks

From the editor’s chair, Graydon Carter charts how high-end thievery and unaccountability in the U.S.—from Clarence Thomas’s holidays to Jared Kushner’s Saudi kickbacks, to Trump’s staggering frauds—are starting to resemble Russia’s after the fall of the Soviet Union …

Trumpsclusive!

From Mar-a-Lago, we present MAGAzine! The hugely anticipated second volume of the Official Lifestyle Publication of Your Once and Future Favorite President features Marjorie Taylor Greene’s fashion tips, a sneak peek at Trump’s Memorial Service, and much more!

The Trial That Never Was

From Delaware, Mark Bowden reports on the shocking last-minute settlement that ended the Dominion vs. Fox trial before it even began …

A Genuine Fake

From the art world, Joseph Bullmore appraises the life of Tony Tetro, the greatest living art forger, whose fakes are becoming as popular as the works he copies …

Now You See Me …

From the archives, Reid Mitenbuler reveals how Hollywood was drafted to help disguise W.W. II factories and military sites up and down the West Coast, using tricks learned on the set …

Less Than Frank

From New York, Tarpley Hitt reports on Charlie Javice, the glamorous founder of fintech start-up Frank, who allegedly created millions of fake customers—and got JPMorgan Chase to fall for it …

Table for Two, Please!

AIR MAIL’s indispensable podcast finds Bruce Bozzi talking rock, roll, and growing old with Jon Bon Jovi …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Who’s buying Instagram’s blue check marks? … the husband who sued his ex-wife’s friends over her abortion … Can a new cigarette brand make it in a wellness world? … Zoe Lister-Jones, queen of orgasms … the photographer Sebastião Salgado is creating images for the blind … art-world enfant terrible Kenny Schachter reveals his travel routine … Plus: the latest in our Attention-Whore Index!

Issue No. 197

The View from Here Truth emerges in the rotting boneyard of the Fox-Dominion libel case. But the Big Lie and the Big Grift continue in Washington and beyond

By Graydon Carter

Read On

Presenting: MAGAzine, Volume Number II

Read On

4

Truth vs. Lies Rupert Murdoch and Fox News may have avoided a trial against Dominion Voting Systems, but make no mistake: they lost

By Mark Bowden

Read On

Aid and Abet After Charlie Javice sold her financial-planning start-up, Frank, to JPMorgan Chase for $175 million, the wunderkind was poised to be the next big name in fintech. Then came charges of fraud

By Tarpley Hitt

Read On

Masters of Disguise How one man enlisted Hollywood to help turn W.W. II aircraft manufacturers up and down the West Coast into camouflage suburbs, complete with fake houses, cars—even laundry lines

By Reid Mitenbuler

Read On

“She does everything he does—backward, forward, and diagonally—only in high heels.”

Organic Matter

As Earth Day approaches, dig into our handpicked bounty of sustainable delights, from clean cosmetics to upcycled clothing and housewares made to last a lifetime

Shop

Photo: Philippe Le Tellier/Paris Match/Getty Images (Fonda)

My Favorite Things Known for her vibrant, timeless textiles, the former Elle Decor editor and Oscar de la Renta Home creative director reveals the pieces she can’t live without

By Carolina Irving

Shop

Photo: Lily Bertrand-Webb (Irving)

Eye of the Beholder Want to explore the canals of Venice and the olive groves of Greece? This all-expense-paid trip also includes the world’s most exclusive Birkin. Christine Nagel explains how she got the job

By Linda Wells

Read On

The Attention-Whore Index Emma Watson, Elon Musk, and a flock of Republican reprobates vie for your attention. Who deserves it? Plus: the world’s strangest stories, collected for you!

Read On

Lunch with Jon Bon Jovi On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the musician explains how the Internet Age has changed the meaning of rock ’n’ roll, why he’s suddenly obsessed with tennis, and much more …

Read On

Fake It Till You Make It He can mimic both Caravaggio and Rembrandt, and his art has been displayed in national galleries and royal households. But are Tony Tetro’s crimes also the sign of a more innocent age?

By Joseph Bullmore

Read On

“I told you to stop doing this if you’re going to approach each table saying, ‘Little help here.’”

S.O.S. Bitter, creepy, and controlling, Marcus Silva has launched a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against three women who helped his now ex-wife get an abortion

By Moira Donegan

Read On

Read Mummy Darlings One would imagine that, in Ireland, being the direct descendant of the founder of Guinness beer far exceeds royal status…

Carry Aviteur Patricia Gucci was once called “the most eligible girl in the world” by The New York Times. (She’s the daughter of Aldo Gucci, and the granddaughter…

Sparkle Monica Rich Kosann It’s been entirely too long since we’ve worn a locket. That is about to change, thanks to the bounty of irresistible ones from Monica Rich Kosann…

Apply Augustinus Bader If we had a dollar for every retinol product that boasts of being less irritating than the competition, and a nickel for every dermatologist…

Stay Madame Rêve I’ll never stop looking for the perfect hotel in Paris, which means that on every possible occasion, I stay somewhere new…

WHIFF Whind Whind, Hind Sebti’s skin-care line, inspired by the sun-kissed sensibility of her native Morocco, has already charmed us with Marrakech Light…

Read Mummy Darlings One would imagine that, in Ireland, being the direct descendant of the founder of Guinness beer far exceeds royal status…

Carry Aviteur Patricia Gucci was once called “the most eligible girl in the world” by The New York Times. (She’s the daughter of Aldo Gucci, and the granddaughter…

Sparkle Monica Rich Kosann It’s been entirely too long since we’ve worn a locket. That is about to change, thanks to the bounty of irresistible ones from Monica Rich Kosann…

Apply Augustinus Bader If we had a dollar for every retinol product that boasts of being less irritating than the competition, and a nickel for every dermatologist…

Stay Madame Rêve I’ll never stop looking for the perfect hotel in Paris, which means that on every possible occasion, I stay somewhere new…

WHIFF Whind Whind, Hind Sebti’s skin-care line, inspired by the sun-kissed sensibility of her native Morocco, has already charmed us with Marrakech Light…

The Millennial Marlboro Man With strict advertising regulations on tobacco, Hestia, the first cigarette brand approved by the F.D.A. in more than a decade, is relying on influencers and hypebeasts to spread the word

By Zach Sokol

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

The Blue-Check Investment Your guide to who’s buying Instagram’s verification check marks, once reserved for actually notable people, now open to anyone willing to pay

By Elena Clavarino

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Muckraking, Italian-Style How a one-man newspaper in Rome attracted the attention of a U.N. agency—and the country’s Supreme Court

By Ben Munster

Read On

Male, Pale, and Stale From the Dalai Lama to President Biden, why are the world’s most powerful leaders incapable of retiring gracefully?

By Marina Hyde

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

The Beautiful People Graydon Carter and Linda Wells celebrate the launch of AIR MAIL LOOK at the Hotel Chelsea

Photographs by Daniel Paik

5

*Clockwise from top:* the Hotel Chelsea; Dasha Zhukova and Derek Blasberg; Michael Hainey and George Hahn; Jill Kargman; Graydon Carter and Linda Wells.

*Clockwise from top left:* Georgie Dent and Christina Grasso; Frédéric Fekkai, Isabelle Harvie-Watt, and Isaac Boots; Shawn McCreesh and Chris Mitchell; Ivan Pun and Sarah Hoover; party fuel.

*Clockwise from top:* beauty-sleep-inducing party favors; Dana Brown and McCreesh; Anna Carter and Amy Fine Collins; Lachlan Cartwright and Nathan King; Annelise Peterson and John Demsey.

*Clockwise from top left:* Jessica Cruel; Pam Wasserstein and Ashley Baker; kisses in the latest lipstick shades from Estée Lauder; Narciso Rodriguez; Sir Colin Callender, Carter, and Victor Garber.

*Clockwise from top left:* Jordan Thomas, Ferris Bueller, and Jennifer Sullivan; Louise Grunwald, J. J. Sacha, and Garber; Elizabeth Cutler, Connor Holloway, and Quinn Murphy; revelers at play; Batsheva Hay and Rachelle Hruska MacPherson.

Read On

“I used to say, ‘Live and learn,’ but now I say, ‘Make one mistake and it’ll be all over the Internet and then you’re screwed.’”

Graydon Carter Discusses the Week That Was On this week’s podcast, AIR MAIL’s co-editor shares his thoughts on Fox News, Trump’s legal woes, and Clarence Thomas’s finances

Read On

Pirates of the Peking Express The extraordinary, little-known story of the bandits who hijacked a Chinese sleeper train full of Westerners, including a Rockefeller heiress, on its way to Beijing

By James M. Zimmerman

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Touching Detail One of the world’s greatest photographers is creating exquisite new work that even the blind can see

By Alan Riding

Read On

All Stations Go Two new books offer an ode to historic train stations, from Roma Termini to Venice’s floating Santa Lucia to the London Underground, and the people who passed through them

16

Anita Ekberg is welcomed by her husband Anthony Steel as she arrives by train to the Roma Termini station, 1956.

Alfred Hitchcock in a carriage outside the main entrance of Roma Termini, 1960.

London’s Gants Hill and Chiswick Park tube stations by night.

Carlo Ponti and his wife Sophia Loren walk along a train platform at Roma Termini, 1961.

Orson Welles with his dog and young daughter at Roma Termini, 1958.

*Top,* London’s Wanstead tube station; *above,* an Underground map from 1947.

The main façade of Venice’s Santa Lucia train station, as seen from the church of San Simeone Piccolo; photographed by Spartaco Appetiti in 1961.

Travelers consult the timetable in the ticket atrium at Roma Termini, 1963.

Inside London’s Southgate and Balham tube stations.

The Napoli Centrale train station; photographed by Gino Micacchi in 1962.

Passengers wait to board a train at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella train station; photographed by Appetiti in 1964.

London’s St. John’s Wood and Northfields tube stations.

Milano Centrale, toward the end of its construction. The train station opened in July 1931.

Travelers wait for their train at Santa Maria Novella; photographed by Appetiti in 1962.

*Top,* a train pulls into London’s Cockfosters tube station, 1933; *above,* an old “Way Out” sign at the Arsenal station.

Travelers feed the pigeons outside Santa Lucia, 1972.

Read On

“Did you remember to take the trash in?”

Bethany McLean On

Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley

by Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans

Read On

Max Carter On

Courting India: Seventeenth-Century England, Mughal India, and the Origins of Empire

by Nandini Das

Empire Building: The Construction of British India, 1690–1860

by Rosie Llewellyn-Jones

Read On

Where Stage and Screen Collide Benjamin Millepied, a former ballet principal and the choreographer for Black Swan, turns Georges Bizet’s classic opera, Carmen, on its head in his film debut, starring Paul Mescal

By Nicolas Rapold

Read On

Zoe Lister-Jones In her new TV series, Slip, the actress, writer, and director plays a woman whose orgasms send her traveling through time

By Bridget Arsenault

Read On

Power Player In her debut season at the Metropolitan Opera, Nathalie Stutzmann, a former star contralto, makes sound in the “silent” role of maestro

By Matthew Gurewitsch

Read On

Artist in the House! At Ocean House, in Rhode Island, a new gallery and suite celebrate the life and times of Ludwig Bemelmans

By Marcia DeSanctis

Read On

Kenny Schachter The artist, art dealer, curator, and writer reveals his travel routine

Read On

Every day is Earth Day: this old thing keeps going round, in spite of us … and it will keep on spinning long after we’re gone.

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 Truth emerges in the rotting boneyard of the Fox-Dominion libel case. But the Big Lie and the Big Grift continue in Washington and beyond

Presenting: MAGAzine, Volume Number II

Truth vs. Lies Rupert Murdoch and Fox News may have avoided a trial against Dominion Voting Systems, but make no mistake: they lost

Aid and Abet After Charlie Javice sold her financial-planning start-up, Frank, to JPMorgan Chase for $175 million, the wunderkind was poised to be the next big name in fintech. Then came charges of fraud

Masters of Disguise How one man enlisted Hollywood to help turn W.W. II aircraft manufacturers up and down the West Coast into camouflage suburbs, complete with fake houses, cars—even laundry lines

As Earth Day approaches, dig into our handpicked bounty of sustainable delights, from clean cosmetics to upcycled clothing and housewares made to last a lifetime

My Favorite Things Known for her vibrant, timeless textiles, the former Elle Decor editor and Oscar de la Renta Home creative director reveals the pieces she can’t live without

Eye of the Beholder Want to explore the canals of Venice and the olive groves of Greece? This all-expense-paid trip also includes the world’s most exclusive Birkin. Christine Nagel explains how she got the job

The Attention-Whore Index Emma Watson, Elon Musk, and a flock of Republican reprobates vie for your attention. Who deserves it? Plus: the world’s strangest stories, collected for you!

Lunch with Jon Bon Jovi On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the musician explains how the Internet Age has changed the meaning of rock ’n’ roll, why he’s suddenly obsessed with tennis, and much more …

Fake It Till You Make It He can mimic both Caravaggio and Rembrandt, and his art has been displayed in national galleries and royal households. But are Tony Tetro’s crimes also the sign of a more innocent age?

S.O.S. Bitter, creepy, and controlling, Marcus Silva has launched a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against three women who helped his now ex-wife get an abortion

The Millennial Marlboro Man With strict advertising regulations on tobacco, Hestia, the first cigarette brand approved by the F.D.A. in more than a decade, is relying on influencers and hypebeasts to spread the word

The Blue-Check Investment Your guide to who’s buying Instagram’s verification check marks, once reserved for actually notable people, now open to anyone willing to pay

Muckraking, Italian-Style How a one-man newspaper in Rome attracted the attention of a U.N. agency—and the country’s Supreme Court

Male, Pale, and Stale From the Dalai Lama to President Biden, why are the world’s most powerful leaders incapable of retiring gracefully?

The Beautiful People Graydon Carter and Linda Wells celebrate the launch of AIR MAIL LOOK at the Hotel Chelsea

Graydon Carter Discusses the Week That Was On this week’s podcast, AIR MAIL’s co-editor shares his thoughts on Fox News, Trump’s legal woes, and Clarence Thomas’s finances

Pirates of the Peking Express The extraordinary, little-known story of the bandits who hijacked a Chinese sleeper train full of Westerners, including a Rockefeller heiress, on its way to Beijing

Houston

Antwerp

Jersey City

Qingdao, China

Online

Breaking Baroque: Christoph Willibald Gluck’s reform opera Iphigénie en Tauride takes the stage at Boston Baroque …

Touching Detail One of the world’s greatest photographers is creating exquisite new work that even the blind can see

All Stations Go Two new books offer an ode to historic train stations, from Roma Termini to Venice’s floating Santa Lucia to the London Underground, and the people who passed through them

Where Stage and Screen Collide Benjamin Millepied, a former ballet principal and the choreographer for Black Swan, turns Georges Bizet’s classic opera, Carmen, on its head in his film debut, starring Paul Mescal

Zoe Lister-Jones In her new TV series, Slip, the actress, writer, and director plays a woman whose orgasms send her traveling through time

Power Player In her debut season at the Metropolitan Opera, Nathalie Stutzmann, a former star contralto, makes sound in the “silent” role of maestro

Artist in the House! At Ocean House, in Rhode Island, a new gallery and suite celebrate the life and times of Ludwig Bemelmans

Kenny Schachter The artist, art dealer, curator, and writer reveals his 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