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February 10, 2024
The Best
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No. 239
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In This Week’s Issue
TIME’S UP

Time Inc., once the publisher of the recently collapsed Sports Illustrated, was a bastion of journalistic excellence—and unlimited-expense-account excess. Why did it all turn so ugly?

SONGS FOR THE MOTHERLAND

The Kremlin has promised a competition to rival the Eurovision Song Contest in yet another attempt by Putin to turn one of Russia’s industries into a propaganda pawn …

NEWS FLASH

The Messenger’s staff knew the eight-month-old, multi-million-dollar news site’s owner was arrogant and its business model shoddy at best, but even they couldn’t have predicted its sudden, violent downfall …

MISE-EN-SEX-SCÈNE

Film studios are hiring “intimacy coordinators” to oversee sensual scenes and enforce good behavior on set—and French directors are having none of it …

MAYDAY!

British Airways, once a beloved institution of English aviation, is in freefall, with visitors opting for JetBlue and locals taking EasyJet instead …

GET THE PICTURE?

In an excerpt from a new book: the little-known story of when Picasso was framed for stealing Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa …

BLITZES AND BURGUNDIES

The go-to retirement plan for ex-N.F.L. players? Enter the wine business, apparently. Ahead of this year’s Super Bowl, an award-winning restaurant critic reviews the best and worst of the player-backed bottles …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Jonathan Becker’s glittering le Bal dispatch … Is Curb Your Enthusiasm really over? … the talk of the Paris theater world, according to John Lahr … Lucy Sante on transitioning in her late 60s … The Taste of Things is delicious in more ways than one … Linda Wells talks mocktails … Valentine’s Day, Dante’s Inferno–style … Vote now in this week’s Attention-Whore Index Poll!

But First …
Issue No. 239

The View from Here As the once great Sports Illustrated withers, a former editor reflects on the profligate larks and obtuse decisions that reduced Time Inc. to a punch line

By Mike Lafavore
Read On
Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook
Troubled Skies

Buckle Up! It wasn’t all that long ago that British Airways was known as “the world’s favorite airline.” Today, some Brits would rather take EasyJet

By Mark Ellwood
Read On
Anatomy of a Fall

Killing the Messenger Since Jimmy Finkelstein abruptly shuttered his eight-month-old, $50 million news start-up, hundreds of former employees have been airing their grievances on Slack

By Brian Stelter
Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop
Read On
Putin’s Pop Stars

The Tortured Musicians Department Vladimir Putin is resurrecting a Soviet-era, Eurovision-like competition—and crushing musicians’ dissent

By Andrew Ryvkin
Read On
Air Supply

The Anti–Valentine’s Day Viewing Guide

With Valentine’s Day lurking, revisit film classics, from Kramer vs. Kramer to The War of the Roses, to remind yourself that not every relationship has a Hollywood ending. But if that doesn’t do the trick, take heart: AIR SUPPLY’s selection of extra-sweet self-care treats will guarantee your February 14 closes on nothing short of a high note
Shop
Photo: Universal/Photo12/Alamy (Rivera and Kelly)
Guest Edit

My Favorite Things Interior designer Jeremiah Brent reveals the items that make him feel most at home, from vintage chairs and versatile glassware to the gadget that helps him sleep better

By Jeremiah Brent
Shop
Photo: courtesy Jeremiah Brent
Small Talk
Super Bowl halftime show. Barbra Streisand reads from her memoir.
Super Bowl halftime show. Barbra Streisand reads from her memoir.
Beauty and Wellness

Eye of the Beholder What’s with the sudden proliferation of alcohol-free spirits and wine? After an extensive taste test, our beauty-and-wellness columnist breaks from her white Burgundy—and loves it. Bottoms up!

By Linda Wells
Read On
T.G.I.S.

The Attention-Whore Index Tucker Carlson is courting Putin, Bryan Johnson is expanding his body, and Donald Trump is comparing himself to Elvis. Who is grasping for your attention the most?

Read On
Comedic Relief

The Long Good-Bye After 12 seasons, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David’s mostly improvised juggernaut and HBO’s longest-running comedy, comes to an end. Well, probably …

By Stuart Heritage
Read On
Best
Sweat Tracksmith Perhaps resembling an extra from an Alexander Payne film while running the loop in Central Park isn’t your thing. But for the rest of… Sparkle Bulgari x Save the Children For the past 15 years, Bulgari has teamed up with Save the Children to support dozens of long-term… Wear Le Prince Jardinier Is there anything worse than asking someone where he or she procured an item of clothing, only to be told, “Oh, this little store in Europe”?… Read True Believer American political life has its tragedies, and the 1960s brims with them. Take Hubert Humphrey, the crusading young mayor of… Scroll @youbelonginthis Everyone is wondering whether or not Taylor Swift will make it to Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium to cheer on her boyfriend… Carry Mystery Ranch If you work a desk job, you probably shouldn’t be carrying a backpack to the office. They tend to convey a “Just get me to the weekend”… Sweat Tracksmith Perhaps resembling an extra from an Alexander Payne film while running the loop in Central Park isn’t your thing. But for the rest of… Sparkle Bulgari x Save the Children For the past 15 years, Bulgari has teamed up with Save the Children to support dozens of long-term… Wear Le Prince Jardinier Is there anything worse than asking someone where he or she procured an item of clothing, only to be told, “Oh, this little store in Europe”?… Read True Believer American political life has its tragedies, and the 1960s brims with them. Take Hubert Humphrey, the crusading young mayor of… Scroll @youbelonginthis Everyone is wondering whether or not Taylor Swift will make it to Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium to cheer on her boyfriend… Carry Mystery Ranch If you work a desk job, you probably shouldn’t be carrying a backpack to the office. They tend to convey a “Just get me to the weekend”…
Theater

Stanislavsky’s Method Performed in Paris and set in America, Tony Award winner Richard Nelson’s new play reimagines a day on tour with Konstantin Stanislavsky’s Russian theater troupe

By John Lahr
Read On
Risqué Business

Good Cop, Bad Cop Hollywood intimacy coordinators, or what the French are calling the “purity police,” are descending on Paris, pitting self-important filmmakers against young actresses

By Monique El-Faizy
Read On
The Art of the Steal

To Catch a Mona Lisa Thief How Picasso got framed for stealing Leonardo’s masterpiece

By Noah Charney
Read On
Small Talk

Burning Love A dating guide to Dante’s second circle of hell

By Simon Webster
Read On
Gridiron Grapes

Wines of the Super Bowl A heavyweight Cabernet from a trio of offensive linemen? Or a quarterback’s soaring Chardonnay? Our award-winning restaurant critic tackles the N.F.L.’s wines

By Alan Richman
Read On
Small Talk
“So besides opera and lurking, what do you do to relax?”
“So besides opera and lurking, what do you do to relax?”
The Restaurant Life

Valentin’s Day France’s newest superstar chef is drawing gourmets from all over Europe to Livingston, his restaurant in Marseille

By Alexander Lobrano
Read On
Society

Belles of le Bal Le Bal des Débutantes, in Paris, is a coming-out party to rival them all. The photographer who has documented it for 25-plus years takes stock of how a glamorous, unusual ritual has adapted to the times

Written and photographed by
Jonathan Becker
10
The master of ceremonies, Stephane Bern, presents Lara Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck and her cavalier, Károly-Konstantin von Habsburg.
A group of debutantes poses before the room is fully set up for the evening.
Skye Wong proves that jewels make for phenomenally beautiful pairings with the debutantes’ own exquisite qualities.
Olivia Ford Uzielli hugs her father, Alessandro.
Lara Connor keeps Hannah Husain hydrated at dinner.
The cavaliers have taken to wearing brooches in recent years.
Ildikó von Habsburg is all smiles in an Alexis Mabille dress.
Liza Webster and her brother, William.
Arielle Malard de Rothschild takes a break.
Lara Cosima and father Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck open Le Bal.
Architectural Curiosities

State of the Art For more than five decades, architect James Wines has pushed for public art to be less self-serious. His first visit to Manhattan’s Hudson Yards suggests why

By Bianca Bosker
Read On
Books
Jonathan Darman On

Diplomats at War: Friendship and Betrayal on the Brink of the Vietnam Conflict

by Charles Trueheart
Read On
Tobias Grey On

I Heard Her Call My Name: A Memoir of Transition

by Lucy Sante
Read On

Murder, They Wrote

by Lisa Henricksson
Read On
Small Talk
Design for Living

Immortal Beauties What does it really take to become a fashion icon? The society queens of Feud: Capote vs. the Swans provide a few clues

By Amy Fine Collins
Read On
Artists in Residence

The Vacation of the Future Photography, painting, writing—creative retreats bring the potential for a life change, along with delicious food and beautiful lodgings

By Aimee Farrell
Read On
Listen

Have You Flown the Britney Spears of Airlines? On this week’s podcast, Mark Ellwood takes us inside the hot mess formerly known as British Airways

Read On
Film

Chef’s Kiss Come for the romance, stay for the food—there’s plenty to love in the new film The Taste of Things

By Christine Muhlke
Read On
Highlight
Sickle, Bandolier, Guitar, by Tina Modotti, 1927.

Eternally Revolutionary

In 1923, after starring in a string of silent films, the 26-year-old Italian émigrée Tina Modotti shed her femme fatale persona and decamped for Mexico with her partner, the photographer Edward Weston. In the wake of the Mexican Revolution, Weston and Modotti landed in the midst of the country’s cultural renaissance, and while acting as both an apprentice and a muse for Weston, Modotti began working as a photographer in her own right. READ ON

Read On
Small Talk
“One semester in Paris and she’s come back completely insufferable.”
“One semester in Paris and she’s come back completely insufferable.”
Close-up

Rachel Kaly The New York– and Los Angeles–based stand-up comedian turns her mental illnesses into jokes

By Jeanne Malle
Read On
The Perfect Ending

Adam Scott

The Golden Globe–nominated actor answers 52 of life’s most pressing questions
Read On
Andrea Ferolla’s Sketchbook
“When love is missing on earth, you just have to look up higher.”
Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

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Angela Panichi

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Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

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Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

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Contributing Photographers

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

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OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

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In Memoriam

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

Issue No. 239
February 10, 2024
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Issue No. 239
February 10, 2024
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