April 13, 2024 – Air Mail

TOXIC ACCUSATIONS

Alex Goldfarb explains why he was awarded $25 million for being wrongly accused by Vladimir Putin of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko, a onetime K.G.B. spy and defector …

A NEW ENLIGHTENMENT

Documentary king Errol Morris considers the search for truth, the importance of reading, and how Christopher Hitchens’s writing inspired his work …

CLASS CLOWN

How St. George’s—the New England prep school whose alumni include Astors and Vanderbilts—came to blows with alumnus Tucker Carlson …

IMITATION INTERIORS

Dan Rubinstein goes inside the world of high-end home design, an industry where knockoffs abound, and reveals the company behind Kim Kardashian’s Donald Judd dupes …

ACADEMY ANGUISH

Sixty years on from his days at a British boarding school, the novelist Louis de Bernières reflects on the bullying and sexual abuse he suffered there—experiences that haunt him to this day …

VOCAL POLITICS

There may be few things that Republicans and Democrats can agree on these days, but Elton John is, apparently, one of them …

SNAPSHOT CITY

Graydon Carter pays tribute to the extraordinary photography of Dafydd Jones, the British party-scene fixture who crosses the pond for his latest book, on 1990s New York …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

An ode to La Latteria, the Milanese restaurant loved by everyone from Keith Haring to Barack Obama … AIR MAIL hosts a book party for Salman Rushdie … Jean Cocteau gets the Peggy Guggenheim treatment … Whatever happened to Venice’s Hotel Bauer? … David E. Sanger’s latest book is a master class in the rise of Russia and China … Who is this week’s biggest Attention Whore?

Issue No. 248

The View from Here A qualified defense of other people

By Errol Morris

Read On

Beating Putin’s Propaganda Alex Goldfarb was falsely accused by Russian state media of poisoning his friend Alexander Litvinenko. His long fight for truth finally ended this week

By Alex Goldfarb

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

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)

St. George’s and the Fire-Breather When Tucker Carlson offered to speak at his WASP-y alma mater, he was not greeted with open arms

By Jack Sullivan

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

My Favorite Things Ahead of his solo show at Pace Gallery, the conceptual artist spotlights his essentials, including the perfect pants and the book he keeps both at home and in his studio

By Adam Pendleton

Shop

Photo: Matthew Septimus (Pendleton)

The Tale of the Tape A voice recorder that transcribes—and could fit in your wallet! A pop-up desk to help you keep your chin up! The world’s handsomest exercise bike! And more …

By Jonathan Margolis

Read On

Amicus Thief Some interior designers are known for knocking off museum-quality furnishings—often without consequences. Will a recent lawsuit by the Donald Judd Foundation change all that?

By Dan Rubinstein

Read On

A Night to Remember with Salman Rushdie Gay Talese, Lisa Taddeo, Marlon James, Tony Danza, and others gathered at the Waverly Inn for a rousing book party in celebration of the writer’s new memoir

By Jensen Davis

Photographs by Daniel Paik

12

*Top,* Gay Talese and Salman Rushdie; *above,* Kaitlan Collins and Tony Danza.

The Attention-Whore Index Elon Musk is conspiring, Donald Trump is venting, and Marjorie Taylor Greene is doomsaying. Plus, the strangest news from around the world

Read On

Long Live La Latteria Over six decades, the couple behind this quaint Milanese spot served spaghetti al limone to Kennedys, Agnellis, artists, and locals alike

By Elena Clavarino

Photographs by DANIEL PAIK

14

Arturo and Maria Maggi in front of their Milan restaurant.

Read On

Eat, Pray, Leave When a British chef ghosted his pregnant wife and young child, she turned to Facebook to track him down

By Seren Hughes

Read On

“Bipartisan Karaoke” Night There is one thing that can still bring a divided Washington together: the music of Elton John

By James Kirchick

Read On

Bullied, Beaten, and Buggered The award-winning author recounts the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse he received at his posh English boarding school

By Louis de Bernières

Read On

Death in Venice For decades, the Hotel Bauer was a home away from home for the international glitterati. Now it’s a cautionary tale

By Mark Ellwood

Read On

High Life, Low Life In his new book, the photographer Dafydd Jones captures a bygone New York, an era of new and old money, La Grenouille and Le Cirque

By Graydon Carter

Photographs by Dafydd Jones

8

*Top,* Iris Love’s and Brooke Astor’s dachshunds fighting over canapés at a party in Manhattan, 1990; *above,* a guest arriving at Webster Hall, 1992.

Rest Easy Until recently, New Orleans’s hotel scene was no match for its nightlife. Several stylish new hotels have changed that

By Steve Garbarino

Read On

READ Friends in Napa In Sheila Yasmin Marikar’s work as a journalist—for AIR MAIL as well as for The New York Times, The New Yorker, and…

WEAR Cubitts Most of the best-looking glasses seen on Londoners come from Cubitts. The brand, named after the street that…

STAY Villa Copenhagen The Hotel Sanders has long been the gold standard in Copenhagen accommodations, but a recent stay at the newish Villa Copenhagen…

Kim Kardashian Gets Sued over Her (Alleged) Fakes On this week’s podcast, Dan Rubinstein reveals why the influencer finds herself the subject of a strange lawsuit

Read On

Theodore Bunzel On

New Cold Wars: China’s Rise, Russia’s Invasion, and America’s Struggle to Defend the West

by David E. Sanger

Read On

Thomas Beller On

Aindrea Emelife One of the Venice Biennale’s youngest-ever curators is bringing Nigerian art to the masses

By Elena Clavarino

Read On

A drawing and poetry from one of Jean Cocteau’s journals, 1960.

The 20th Century’s Enfant Terrible

When the madcap American heiress and audacious art collector Peggy Guggenheim founded her first gallery, Guggenheim Jeune, in London, her adviser Marcel Duchamp proposed she inaugurate the space with a Jean Cocteau show. To make the necessary arrangements, Guggenheim visited the protean artist in Paris, where he received her in bed in an opium haze. READ ON

Read On

“For God’s sake, Mr. Danvers, work with me here!” — “For God’s sake, Mr. Danvers, *work* with me here!”

Nicholson Baker

The award-winning author, who’s written about everything from actual secret government programs to imagined inter-dimensional sex fantasias, reveals a few of his least favorite things

Read On

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In Memoriam

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

The View from Here A qualified defense of other people

Beating Putin’s Propaganda Alex Goldfarb was falsely accused by Russian state media of poisoning his friend Alexander Litvinenko. His long fight for truth finally ended this week

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

St. George’s and the Fire-Breather When Tucker Carlson offered to speak at his WASP-y alma mater, he was not greeted with open arms

My Favorite Things Ahead of his solo show at Pace Gallery, the conceptual artist spotlights his essentials, including the perfect pants and the book he keeps both at home and in his studio

The Tale of the Tape A voice recorder that transcribes—and could fit in your wallet! A pop-up desk to help you keep your chin up! The world’s handsomest exercise bike! And more …

Amicus Thief Some interior designers are known for knocking off museum-quality furnishings—often without consequences. Will a recent lawsuit by the Donald Judd Foundation change all that?

A Night to Remember with Salman Rushdie Gay Talese, Lisa Taddeo, Marlon James, Tony Danza, and others gathered at the Waverly Inn for a rousing book party in celebration of the writer’s new memoir

The Attention-Whore Index Elon Musk is conspiring, Donald Trump is venting, and Marjorie Taylor Greene is doomsaying. Plus, the strangest news from around the world

Long Live La Latteria Over six decades, the couple behind this quaint Milanese spot served spaghetti al limone to Kennedys, Agnellis, artists, and locals alike

Eat, Pray, Leave When a British chef ghosted his pregnant wife and young child, she turned to Facebook to track him down

“Bipartisan Karaoke” Night There is one thing that can still bring a divided Washington together: the music of Elton John

Bullied, Beaten, and Buggered The award-winning author recounts the physical, sexual, and psychological abuse he received at his posh English boarding school

Death in Venice For decades, the Hotel Bauer was a home away from home for the international glitterati. Now it’s a cautionary tale

High Life, Low Life In his new book, the photographer Dafydd Jones captures a bygone New York, an era of new and old money, La Grenouille and Le Cirque

Rest Easy Until recently, New Orleans’s hotel scene was no match for its nightlife. Several stylish new hotels have changed that

Kim Kardashian Gets Sued over Her (Alleged) Fakes On this week’s podcast, Dan Rubinstein reveals why the influencer finds herself the subject of a strange lawsuit

Aindrea Emelife One of the Venice Biennale’s youngest-ever curators is bringing Nigerian art to the masses

The award-winning author, who’s written about everything from actual secret government programs to imagined inter-dimensional sex fantasias, reveals a few of his least favorite things

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editors

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

Senior 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

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 Associate

In Memoriam