August 12, 2023 – Air Mail

Below the Law

From Washington, D.C., Jeffrey Toobin reveals how a midlife crisis transformed the lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, a mild-mannered “nerd among nerds,” into Co-Conspirator 5, the mastermind behind Trump’s fake-elector plot …

Death of a Master

From Hollywood, Graydon Carter hymns the protean originality of the late filmmaker William Friedkin, who could be exceptionally charming, or charmingly cantankerous, depending on the day …

Nocturnal Animals

From downtown, Jake Malooley unveils an eye-opening oral history of After Hours—the black comedy that revived Martin Scorsese’s career—featuring Griffin Dunne, Catherine O’Hara, and Scorsese himself …

Faulty Tower

From New York, William D. Cohan reports on how an 83-story mega-tower planned for the heart of Midtown will replace Donald Trump’s first Manhattan property, and enter an already glutted commercial-real-estate market …

Hairy Styles

From AIR MAIL’s beauty-and-wellness lab, Linda Wells investigates the trend of longer, looser, sexier hair, no matter your age …

How Did She Do It?

From the 19th century, Jenny McPhee reveals how the writer George Eliot sought to have it all by living a double life that served both her vaulting ambition and her adulterous passion …

Table for Two, Please!

AIR MAIL’s indispensable podcast finds Bruce Bozzi talking with Gretchen Carlson about the Miss America pageant, workplace harassment, and the dreaded Roger Ailes …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Britain’s private-banks club … Prince Albert of Monaco is in heaps of trouble—again! … the Savile Row–trained rabbi tailor of Brooklyn … Harry Styles’s ex Camilla Rowe oozes French-girl style … former Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust talks affirmative action … jewelry designer Lisa Eisner’s one indulgence is an oxygen tank … And vote now in our Attention-Whore Index Poll!

Issue No. 213

The View from Here There’s a better way to remember William Friedkin, the witty, generous, and passionately dedicated director of The French Connection and The Exorcist

By Graydon Carter

Read On

Legal Weasel Nerdy Harvard lawyer Ken Chesebro (Co-Conspirator 5) was a liberal until he got rich on Bitcoin and veered right, so much so that he advised Trump to use false electors to derail the 2020 election

By Jeffrey Toobin

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHOP CHOPPISH SHOP

Read On

The Outdoor Connoisseur

As August comes and goes, make the most of the season’s final sun-soaked afternoons and balmy evenings with AIR SUPPLY’s refreshing selection of must-have alfresco accents for your next beach bonfire, picnic in the park, and beyond

Shop

Photo: Serge Balkin/Condé Nast/Shutterstock (woman on beach)

Towering Infernal Does New York need another gigantic office tower? RXR Realty, which plans to build the tallest building in Midtown East, on the site of Trump’s first Manhattan property, seems to think so

By William D. Cohan

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

My Favorite Things Long before “quiet luxury” became the sartorial trend du jour, CO’s Stephanie Danan was thoughtfully perfecting subtle, sensible silhouettes. Here, the Moroccan film producer turned designer shares her essentials, all of which are as enduring as her silhouettes themselves

By Stephanie Danan

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Photo: Rich Stapleton (Danan)

Eye of the Beholder Longer, thicker, lusher—when it comes to hair these days, the overriding impulse is “more.” Why are women of all ages and persuasions going full-on Rapunzel? Our beauty-and-wellness columnist investigates

By Linda Wells

Read On

Lunch with Gretchen Carlson On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the former Fox News anchor joins host Bruce Bozzi to discuss how she went from Miss America to Roger Ailes’s worst nightmare …

Read On

The Attention-Whore Index Lizzo takes a Mean Girl swerve, Prince Harry keeps getting paid, and Commander won’t stop biting the hand that feeds. Who deserves your vote?

Read On

The House Doesn’t Always Win In Monaco, allegations of corruption have triggered a series of lawsuits against Prince Albert, creating chaos in a country known for discretion

By Peter Conradi

Read On

After Hours: The Oral History of a Cult Classic With his career on the ropes, Martin Scorsese fought his way back to the top with a low-budget, surreal black comedy, set in New York’s gritty downtown scene

By Jake Malooley

Read On

Blueblood Banks If you don’t want your money mingling with that of the common man, get thee to a private bank

By Joseph Bullmore

Read On

“We’re still negotiating. I want a six-figure salary, and they don’t want to hire me.”

The Heirs of an Execution Seventy years after Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for atomic espionage, their sons recall watching them go on trial

By Hadley Freeman

Read On

Pamper Hanacure If your skin is in need of some professional-grade rejuvenation but you don’t have time for a proper facial before a last-minute event or date…

Sparkle Francesca Villa Have you ever perused a flea market and left wondering what to do with the trinkets that clutter your shelves? Enter Francesca Villa…

Shade Persol x Oetker Collection It’s no fun to arrive in paradise only to discover that your Oliver Peoples aviators were left back on the…

Wear Buck Mason Great-looking chinos: ubiquitous in the world of men’s wear but more elusive for the rest of us. When I ordered the Baja Twill Field Chino…

Savor Knead Love Who doesn’t love waking up early on a Saturday morning to bake a fresh batch of gluten-free sourdough bread? Safe to say, most of us…

Stay Four Seasons Resort and Residences, Vail As wildfires tear their way through Europe, and heat waves ascend to increasingly infernal highs in the U.S…

Pamper Hanacure If your skin is in need of some professional-grade rejuvenation but you don’t have time for a proper facial before a last-minute event or date…

Sparkle Francesca Villa Have you ever perused a flea market and left wondering what to do with the trinkets that clutter your shelves? Enter Francesca Villa…

Shade Persol x Oetker Collection It’s no fun to arrive in paradise only to discover that your Oliver Peoples aviators were left back on the…

Wear Buck Mason Great-looking chinos: ubiquitous in the world of men’s wear but more elusive for the rest of us. When I ordered the Baja Twill Field Chino…

Savor Knead Love Who doesn’t love waking up early on a Saturday morning to bake a fresh batch of gluten-free sourdough bread? Safe to say, most of us…

Stay Four Seasons Resort and Residences, Vail As wildfires tear their way through Europe, and heat waves ascend to increasingly infernal highs in the U.S…

Making Trouble In an interview, former Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust discusses growing up in the American South, the ending of affirmative action, and her new memoir, Necessary Trouble

By Jim Kelly

Read On

Falling Dominoes The latest Cold War–era monument to be destroyed in Berlin: Generalshotel, a V.I.P. lounge that Fidel Castro and Leonid Brezhnev passed through on trips to East Germany

By David Crossland

Read On

Shabbat Chic A Savile Row–trained rabbi, now working in Brooklyn, is one of the hottest tailors in town

By Lucy Horowitz

Read On

Camille Rowe The model, actress, and muse discusses pivoting to acting in her mid-20s and why she’s excited to play older roles

By Clara Molot

Read On

Cal Flyn On

Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World

by John Vaillant

Read On

Jenny McPhee On

The Marriage Question: George Eliot’s Double Life

by Clare Carlisle

Read On

When Rome Stood Still Pandemic-era photographs of deserted streets and empty monuments reveal a magical side to a city so often associated with the throngs of people it attracts

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*Top,* the Colosseum, just east of the Roman Forum; *above,* the Tiber River by night.

*Top,* Piazza del Popolo; *above,* a sculpture from the Fountain of the Four Rivers, in Piazza Navona.

*Top,* Piazza Navona; *above,* the Pyramid of Caius Cestius by night.

A sculpture from the Fountain of Neptune, in Piazza Navona.

*Top,* Piazza di Spagna, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps; *above,* the Castel Sant’Angelo reflects over the Tiber.

*Top,* the Colosseum at dusk; *above,* a sculpture from the Vittoriano, in Piazza Venezia.

How a Man Called “the Cheese” Almost Subverted the 2020 Election On this week’s podcast, Jeffrey Toobin on Trump’s Harvard-educated lawyer who concocted the plan to overturn Biden’s victory

Read On

Picture’s Up The 76th Edinburgh International Film Festival, which opens next week, will screen a selection of vintage movies and innovative international films

By Andrew Pulver

Read On

Winds of Change Comporta, Portugal, sits on the last undeveloped stretch of Atlantic Ocean coastline in Southern Europe. Will developers and tourists ruin it?

By Michael Hainey

Read On

Lisa Eisner

The jewelry designer answers 37 of life’s most pressing questions

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 Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

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 Daphne Merkin

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

Audience Growth Manager

Merritt Johnson

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Interns

Eleanor Barzun Isabella Carter Nyla Gilstrap Michael Melinger 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 There’s a better way to remember William Friedkin, the witty, generous, and passionately dedicated director of The French Connection and The Exorcist

Legal Weasel Nerdy Harvard lawyer Ken Chesebro (Co-Conspirator 5) was a liberal until he got rich on Bitcoin and veered right, so much so that he advised Trump to use false electors to derail the 2020 election

As August comes and goes, make the most of the season’s final sun-soaked afternoons and balmy evenings with AIR SUPPLY’s refreshing selection of must-have alfresco accents for your next beach bonfire, picnic in the park, and beyond

Towering Infernal Does New York need another gigantic office tower? RXR Realty, which plans to build the tallest building in Midtown East, on the site of Trump’s first Manhattan property, seems to think so

My Favorite Things Long before “quiet luxury” became the sartorial trend du jour, CO’s Stephanie Danan was thoughtfully perfecting subtle, sensible silhouettes. Here, the Moroccan film producer turned designer shares her essentials, all of which are as enduring as her silhouettes themselves

Eye of the Beholder Longer, thicker, lusher—when it comes to hair these days, the overriding impulse is “more.” Why are women of all ages and persuasions going full-on Rapunzel? Our beauty-and-wellness columnist investigates

Lunch with Gretchen Carlson On this week’s episode of Table for Two, the former Fox News anchor joins host Bruce Bozzi to discuss how she went from Miss America to Roger Ailes’s worst nightmare …

The Attention-Whore Index Lizzo takes a Mean Girl swerve, Prince Harry keeps getting paid, and Commander won’t stop biting the hand that feeds. Who deserves your vote?

The House Doesn’t Always Win In Monaco, allegations of corruption have triggered a series of lawsuits against Prince Albert, creating chaos in a country known for discretion

After Hours: The Oral History of a Cult Classic With his career on the ropes, Martin Scorsese fought his way back to the top with a low-budget, surreal black comedy, set in New York’s gritty downtown scene

Blueblood Banks If you don’t want your money mingling with that of the common man, get thee to a private bank

The Heirs of an Execution Seventy years after Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for atomic espionage, their sons recall watching them go on trial

Making Trouble In an interview, former Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust discusses growing up in the American South, the ending of affirmative action, and her new memoir, Necessary Trouble

Falling Dominoes The latest Cold War–era monument to be destroyed in Berlin: Generalshotel, a V.I.P. lounge that Fidel Castro and Leonid Brezhnev passed through on trips to East Germany

Shabbat Chic A Savile Row–trained rabbi, now working in Brooklyn, is one of the hottest tailors in town

Camille Rowe The model, actress, and muse discusses pivoting to acting in her mid-20s and why she’s excited to play older roles

Tel Aviv

Frankfurt

Sydney

Prague

Online

Fish out of water: the Dutch National Opera revives Dvořák’s Rusalka, inspired by The Little Mermaid and streaming now …

When Rome Stood Still Pandemic-era photographs of deserted streets and empty monuments reveal a magical side to a city so often associated with the throngs of people it attracts

How a Man Called “the Cheese” Almost Subverted the 2020 Election On this week’s podcast, Jeffrey Toobin on Trump’s Harvard-educated lawyer who concocted the plan to overturn Biden’s victory

Picture’s Up The 76th Edinburgh International Film Festival, which opens next week, will screen a selection of vintage movies and innovative international films

Winds of Change Comporta, Portugal, sits on the last undeveloped stretch of Atlantic Ocean coastline in Southern Europe. Will developers and tourists ruin it?

The jewelry designer answers 37 of life’s most pressing questions

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

Photo Editor

Designer

International Editor

London Editor

Communications Director

Columnists

Writers at Large

Contributing Artists

Contributing Photographers

Architectural Consultant

Social Media Manager

Head of Audience Development

Audience Growth Manager

Cartoon Editor

Music Supervisor

Technology

Interns

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