January 4, 2025 – Air Mail

THAT’S THE SPIRIT!

Why are monks so impossibly happy? According to Pico Iyer, who has regularly decamped to a monastery in Big Sur for more than three decades, it’s because they tune out society—from TV to Trumpism …

PRIME TARGETS

Clutch your pearls! Not even the Windsors are safe from a series of burglaries that have targeted the world’s most high-profile people, Prince William and Kim Kardashian among them …

TIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

Bonnie and Clyde! Bullitt! Theadora Van Runkle’s costume designs didn’t just net her Oscar nominations; they also influenced the fashion world at large …

DOT YOUR THIGHS, CROSS YOUR KNEES

To pay her way through Cambridge, Tyler Bennett began to churn out written erotica—and wound up learning just as much about herself as about the ins and outs of the smut trade …

OUT WITH A BANG

In the early 1960s, Ian Fleming put James Bond on the back burner to write a children’s story. What resulted was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a tale adapted by Roald Dahl into an idiosyncratic and undeniably inventive film …

FOODFELLAS

From Joe DiMaggio to Leonardo DiCaprio, over 125 years, Bamonte’s, in Williamsburg, has accrued a faithful clientele that comes for the history and stays for the chicken Parm …

For Whom the Belle Tolls

While writing an introduction to Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, Amanda Vaill discovered that the novel’s focal love story might well be based on the writer’s first wife, Hadley …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Baldoni v. Lively … revisiting Weegee’s chaotic, comic photography … Jeremy King’s daughter brings British nightlife across the pond… the Apple Watch’s translator makes travel a breeze … Perle Mesta, Washington’s greatest host … Alexandra Dariescu’s Stockholm piano concerto … Janelle James shares her least favorite things …

Issue No. 286

The View from Here Trying out for the Actors Studio was a trial by fire. But holding screen tests for porn films was no breeze, either

By Michael Elias

Read On

Lively vs. Baldoni Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are in the midst of a bare-knuckle, barroom, #MeToo brawl—but who is smearing whom?

By Kat Rosenfield

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

When Film Set the Fashion Theadora Van Runkle—the costume designer behind Bonnie and Clyde, Bullitt, and The Thomas Crown Affair—defined Hollywood cool

By Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger

Read On

Enter the Hibernation Zone

In the animal kingdom, hibernation is key to surviving the cold, dark winter. Creatures big and small must conserve energy until more favorable conditions emerge. Who is AIR SUPPLY to deny the natural order? Go inward and maximize the season of rest and renewal with our guide to hunkering down

Shop

Photo: Henry Clark/Condé Nast/Getty Images (bedroom)

Heifara Rutgers and David Roth’s Favorite Things As ski season gets underway, the founders of Aztech Mountain share what they love on and off the slopes

Shop

A Quantum Leap Year Take a quantum computer for a spin in Glastonbury! Find out what’s going to happen a trillion years from now! Use your Apple Watch to speak another language! And more …

By Jonathan Margolis

Read On

“An excessive salary is nice, but it’s hard to beat exorbitant bonuses.”

Robbing the Rich Burglaries of the high-profile are on the rise across Europe—Prince William, Kim Kardashian, and Anya Taylor-Joy are among the victims

By Ben Bryant

Read On

EAT Laroot World New Yorkers, if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier, Laroot World is for you. Founded by Natasha Poniatowski,…

DINE Virginia’s As you enter Virginia’s on a brisk wintry evening, you are enveloped by an immense warmth—in the form of yellow-topaz lighting…

Join The Fill Club Gwen Whiting, founder of the luxury-care brand The Laundress, has a better understanding of “clean” than the rest of us do…

rinse Seed to Skin Seed to Skin’s Bath Nectar, an oil infused with the nectar of 100 flowers, has become one of our go-to hostess gifts. But the…

LOOK Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums If you like going to museums, this book is for you. And if you don’t…

drizzle Heraclea Named after the ancient city at the foot of Mount Latmos in Turkey, Heraclea specializes in extra-virgin olive oil crafted from the…

EAT Laroot World New Yorkers, if one of your New Year’s resolutions is to eat healthier, Laroot World is for you. Founded by Natasha Poniatowski,…

DINE Virginia’s As you enter Virginia’s on a brisk wintry evening, you are enveloped by an immense warmth—in the form of yellow-topaz lighting…

Join The Fill Club Gwen Whiting, founder of the luxury-care brand The Laundress, has a better understanding of “clean” than the rest of us do…

rinse Seed to Skin Seed to Skin’s Bath Nectar, an oil infused with the nectar of 100 flowers, has become one of our go-to hostess gifts. But the…

LOOK Footnotes from the Most Fascinating Museums If you like going to museums, this book is for you. And if you don’t…

drizzle Heraclea Named after the ancient city at the foot of Mount Latmos in Turkey, Heraclea specializes in extra-virgin olive oil crafted from the…

Car Trouble Written by Ian Fleming with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang remains a strange yet scrumptious children’s classic—yet it barely made it to the screen

By Alexander Larman

Read On

Saucy Beast In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where almost everything has changed, a 125-year-old Italian restaurant is hotter than ever. Welcome to Bamonte’s

By Rob LeDonne

Read On

Of Course It Kills Them The secret inspiration for Ernest Hemingway’s greatest novel

By Amanda Vaill

Read On

The Kid Stays Out of the Picture In a secluded monastery perched high above the Pacific, one writer discovered the monk’s greatest gifts: Bob Evans and getting away from it all

By Pico Iyer

Read On

Robin Olson On

The Woman Who Knew Everyone: The Power of Perle Mesta, Washington’s Most Famous Hostess

by Meryl Gordon

Read On

Where to Escape from 2025 On this week’s podcast, Pico Iyer discusses his favorite retreat in the world and the power of reflection

Read On

The Pen Is Stiffer Than the Sword Tyler Bennett recalls the tips, tricks, and twists of writing erotica in which—unlike in porn films—context is everything

By Tyler Bennett

Read On

Grit and Glam From tabloid shots in New York to portraits of Hollywood stars, the Ukrainian photographer Weegee did it all

8

Man arrested for cross-dressing, New York, photographed by Weegee, circa 1939.

Weegee at his typewriter in the trunk of his 1938 Chevy, New York, circa 1943.

Charles Sodokoff and Arthur Webber use their top hats to hide their faces, New York, 1942.

Night… a black velvet curtain has dropped over the white sky… a few mothers went looking for their kids… found them here… dragged them home for supper… but they are back again… but that’s the same Empire State Building in the Background...., New York, 1944.

Lovers at the movies, New York, circa 1943.

Tenement sleeping during heat spell, Lower East Side, New York, 1941.

Fire in loft building, New York, circa 1947.

*Drowning Victim, Coney Island,* circa 1940.

Read On

Margot Hauer-King The daughter of London restaurateur Jeremy King is shaking up New York’s social scene with a brand-new after-dinner club

By Jeanne Malle

Read On

A Champion for Clara Alexandra Dariescu makes a specialty of the other Schumann piano concerto

By Matthew Gurewitsch

Read On

Janelle James

The Abbott Elementary actress shares her least favorite things

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

Investigations Editor

Clara Molot

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Lucy Horowitz Jeanne Malle Paulina Prosnitz Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Senior Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

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

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Bridget Arsenault Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Spike Carter Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Matthew Gurewitsch Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall Daphne Merkin Sam Wasson

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Pip Carter Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks 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

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Business Development Director

Catherine Scott

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

Jessica Iredale

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-commerce Associate

Lilly Schoenbaum

In Memoriam

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

The View from Here Trying out for the Actors Studio was a trial by fire. But holding screen tests for porn films was no breeze, either

Lively vs. Baldoni Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni are in the midst of a bare-knuckle, barroom, #MeToo brawl—but who is smearing whom?

When Film Set the Fashion Theadora Van Runkle—the costume designer behind Bonnie and Clyde, Bullitt, and The Thomas Crown Affair—defined Hollywood cool

In the animal kingdom, hibernation is key to surviving the cold, dark winter. Creatures big and small must conserve energy until more favorable conditions emerge. Who is AIR SUPPLY to deny the natural order? Go inward and maximize the season of rest and renewal with our guide to hunkering down

Heifara Rutgers and David Roth’s Favorite Things As ski season gets underway, the founders of Aztech Mountain share what they love on and off the slopes

A Quantum Leap Year Take a quantum computer for a spin in Glastonbury! Find out what’s going to happen a trillion years from now! Use your Apple Watch to speak another language! And more …

Robbing the Rich Burglaries of the high-profile are on the rise across Europe—Prince William, Kim Kardashian, and Anya Taylor-Joy are among the victims

Car Trouble Written by Ian Fleming with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang remains a strange yet scrumptious children’s classic—yet it barely made it to the screen

Saucy Beast In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where almost everything has changed, a 125-year-old Italian restaurant is hotter than ever. Welcome to Bamonte’s

Of Course It Kills Them The secret inspiration for Ernest Hemingway’s greatest novel

The Kid Stays Out of the Picture In a secluded monastery perched high above the Pacific, one writer discovered the monk’s greatest gifts: Bob Evans and getting away from it all

Where to Escape from 2025 On this week’s podcast, Pico Iyer discusses his favorite retreat in the world and the power of reflection

The Pen Is Stiffer Than the Sword Tyler Bennett recalls the tips, tricks, and twists of writing erotica in which—unlike in porn films—context is everything

Grit and Glam From tabloid shots in New York to portraits of Hollywood stars, the Ukrainian photographer Weegee did it all

Margot Hauer-King The daughter of London restaurateur Jeremy King is shaking up New York’s social scene with a brand-new after-dinner club

A Champion for Clara Alexandra Dariescu makes a specialty of the other Schumann piano concerto

The Abbott Elementary actress shares her least favorite things

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editor

Investigations Editor

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

Senior Photo Editor

Designer

International 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

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Business Development Director

European Sales Director

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Chief Merchant

Shop Editor

E-Commerce Manager

E-commerce Associate

In Memoriam