May 17, 2025 – Air Mail

MESS-EN-SCÈNE

A young actress believed she’d come across an opportunity to make good money. Instead, she and 134 other women were the victims of a pornography scheme allegedly run by a Venetian aristocrat …

FIELDS OF STUDY

Whether to reject capitalist society or find “true” occupational happiness, the Gen Z graduates of elite colleges from Barnard to Middlebury are forgoing finance jobs for manual labor …

CITY OF LITECOIN

Although Emmanuel Macron has done his best to paint Paris as a paradise for crypto-currency execs, a slew of recent kidnappings—with violent consequences—has rattled the digital nouveau riche …

SUSSEX SYNDROME

Amid David Beckham’s lavish and profusely Instagrammed 50th-birthday celebrations, drama involving his hapless son Brooklyn reeks of the familial turmoil that sank the Sussexes …

SHEIKH MAGNET

Shortly after accepting a portrait from Putin, Donald Trump has once again dipped into bribery territory by accepting a $400 million Boeing 747 from the Qatari royal family. Even his most devoted followers are at a loss …

MOTHER’S RUIN

While writing a book based on his AIR MAIL series about the murder of Connecticut mother of five Jennifer Dulos, Rich Cohen found a new perspective on an abundant life taken far too soon …

FEDERAL AFFAIRS

As F.B.I. director Kash Patel continues to draw bipartisan ire, his predecessor, James Comey, who was fired by Trump, discusses his new book, FDR Drive, in Eight Questions with Jim Kelly …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Post-Pulitzer, Percival Everett talks Trump … the American soccer investors mimicking Ted Lasso … John Singer Sargent’s portraits of Gilded Age heiresses who married into British aristocracy go on view in London… Big Mouth’s Nick Kroll reveals his least favorite things … Who was this week’s biggest Attention Whore?

Issue No. 305

The View from Here Disenchanted with the finance and consulting tracks that once defined success, some elite college grads are trading desk jobs for grueling blue-collar work

By Jeanne Malle

Read On

Snatch and Grab Moments before Kim Kardashian testified against her burglars in a Parisian court, another kidnapping attempt was unfolding a few miles away—this time, targeting crypto world

By Alexandra Marshall

Read On

Beware Qataris Bearing Gifts Trump’s latest foray into bribery comes in the form of a $400 million aerial sleazemobile, courtesy of a petro-state autocrat

By Marina Hyde

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Female Trouble What happens when a prodigal son falls under the influence of his older, American wife? The Beckhams are experiencing their own version of Megxit

By Stuart Heritage

Read On

Gifts for the Graduate

Hats off to the graduates. Congratulate them on a job well done and ease them into reality with a special gift from AIR MAIL’s guide. Our selection telegraphs professionalism, maturity, and timelessness. Salie 66’s black cardigan, Métier’s briefcase, and Wms&Co.’s note cards will all be in style even if it takes a while to get a job

Shop

Photo: MGM/Photofest (Goodbye, Mr. Chips)

Department of Insanity Move over, DOGE—Group Receiving Inducements For Trump (GRIFT), the president’s newest government agency, is draining the swamp, one luxury jet at a time

By Andy Borowitz

Read On

Marcy Blum’s Favorite Things After 40 years of producing high-profile nuptials, the event planner to the stars has mastered wedding magic. Here, she shares her tricks of the trade

Shop

The Attention-Whore Index Donald Trump covets a plane, Sean Combs craves baby oil, and Joe Biden regrets rien

By George Kalogerakis

Read On

Shop Vis-à-Vis Paris x Laila Gohar If whatever your mom bought you at Bed Bath & Beyond simply isn’t cutting it, perhaps some…

READ Glass Century How does Ross Barkan find the time? For the past decade, he’s been on the front lines of the national-politics beat…

DRINK Bar Pisellino x Villa Làrio Air Mail has a few satellite offices in the vicinity of our Greenwich Village HQ, and one is…

LOOK Insectopolis You may be under the impression that humans are the “main characters” of the earth and that insects are mere pests that we…

DRINK Figlia Figlia bottles the taste of summer. With notes of lemon, peach, black tea, and a blend of botanical extracts like elderflower, basil,…

RIDE Ural Anyone with a shred of sense knows that at some point in the not-too-distant future the world is going to end. And when it does…

Shop Vis-à-Vis Paris x Laila Gohar If whatever your mom bought you at Bed Bath & Beyond simply isn’t cutting it, perhaps some…

READ Glass Century How does Ross Barkan find the time? For the past decade, he’s been on the front lines of the national-politics beat…

DRINK Bar Pisellino x Villa Làrio Air Mail has a few satellite offices in the vicinity of our Greenwich Village HQ, and one is…

LOOK Insectopolis You may be under the impression that humans are the “main characters” of the earth and that insects are mere pests that we…

DRINK Figlia Figlia bottles the taste of summer. With notes of lemon, peach, black tea, and a blend of botanical extracts like elderflower, basil,…

RIDE Ural Anyone with a shred of sense knows that at some point in the not-too-distant future the world is going to end. And when it does…

Scandal in Venice Behind a glamorous façade of art galas and gallery openings, the handsome scion of the historic Bauer Hotel family was allegedly running a sham gynecologic practice, filming women for porn

By Elena Clavarino

Read On

The Connecticut Way of Death How my investigation into the disappearance of mother of five Jennifer Dulos went from In Cold Blood to Madame Bovary

By Rich Cohen

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

A League of Their Own The American infiltration of European soccer clubs goes far beyond Ted Lasso. Welcome to Copenhagen’s A.B. team

By John von Sothen

Read On

One Night in the Tropics Under cover of darkness, armed men stormed a former British consul’s Ecuador ranch, kidnapping him and his girlfriend. Now he recounts their harrowing escape

By Matthew Campbell

Read On

The G-Man Writes Again Former F.B.I. director James Comey on working for George W. Bush and Barack Obama; advice for the current director, Kash Patel; and the art of his second act: writing thrillers

By Jim Kelly

Read On

Lunch with Natasha Lyonne On this week’s Table for Two, everyone’s favorite gravel-voiced actress describes the target audience for Poker Face, why she should be the face of a pro-smoking ad campaign, and more

Read On

The Pathological Ironist Percival Everett, whose novel James won the Pulitzer Prize this month, talks Trump, Twain, and fighting darkness with humor

By Robbie Millen

Read On

Cora, Countess of Strafford (née Smith), painted by John Singer Sargent, 1908.

The “Dollar Princess” Diaries

“In spite of my democracy / I’ve married the aristocracy / Like a true American girl.” This isn’t a line trilled in the television show Downton Abbey, but it could have been. READ ON

Read On

Getting Lit Literary salons are making a comeback in London, where live readings—complete with D.J.’s—are eclipsing nightclubs

By Sinéad Campbell

Read On

Pico Iyer On

To Infinity and Beyond! Space is so last season. The latest travel trend is all about stargazing from far-flung corners of the earth

By David Christopher Kaufman

Read On

Benito Skinner In his new series, Overcompensating, the 31-year-old comedian joins stars such as Megan Fox, Kaia Gerber, and Charli XCX to tell his coming-out story

By Paulina Prosnitz

Read On

Hollywood in Bloom From Come September to Love in the Afternoon, a look at the film industry’s most memorable celebrations of spring

17

Sandra Milo in Federico Fellini’s *Giulietta degli Spiriti,* 1965.

Marlene Dietrich in Rouben Mamoulian’s *The* *Song of Songs,* 1933.

Audrey Hepburn in Billy Wilder’s *Love in the Afternoon,* 1957.

*Top,* Samuel West in James Ivory’s *Howards End,* 1992; *above,* Keiko Kishi, Yoshiko Sakuma, Yūko Kotegawa, Sayuri Yoshinaga, and Kôji Ishizaka in Kon Ichikawa’s The Makioka Sisters, 1983.

Gina Lollobrigida in a promotional photo shoot for Robert Mulligan’s *Come September,* 1961.

Sidney Poitier in James Clavell’s *To Sir, with Love,* 1967.

*Top,* Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron in Vincente Minnelli’s *An American in Paris,* 1951; *above,* Pom Klementieff in Spike Lee’s *Oldboy,* 2013.

Catherine Deneuve in Jacques Demy’s *The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,* 1964.

Tyrone Power and Kim Novak in George Sidney’s *The Eddy Duchin Story,* 1956.

Elizabeth Taylor at her wedding to Richard Burton, 1964.

*Top,* Jeanne Moreau in Tony Richardson’s *Mademoiselle,* 1966; *above,* a still from David Hand’s *Bambi,* 1942.

Sylva Koscina, Giulietta Masina, and Milo in *Giulietta degli Spiriti.*

Brigitte Bardot in Louis Malle’s *A Very Private Affair,* 1962.

*Top,* George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon in Richard Lester’s *Help!,* 1965; *above,* the actress and dancer Sonia Petrovna in Venice for the film festival, 1966.

Pascal Lamorisse in Albert Lamorisse’s *The Red Balloon,* 1956.

Hepburn and Gregory Peck in William Wyler’s *Roman Holiday,* 1953.

Read On

Inside the Sexual-Abuse Scandal That’s Shocked Italy On this week’s podcast, Elena Clavarino looks at how a scion of one of Venice’s storied families went bad

Read On

Shakespeare on Pointe Balanchine’s 1962 adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a magical tale of love and longing, returns to New York City Ballet

By Matthew Brookoff

Read On

Nick Kroll

The force behind Kroll Show and Big Mouth shares his least favorite things

Read On

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Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

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Angela Panichi

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Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King George Pendle Julia Vitale

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Carolina de Armas Jeanne Malle Paulina Prosnitz

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Harrison Vail

Columnists

Dana Brown Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson
Walter Isaacson Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson
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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

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Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

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Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

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In Memoriam

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

The View from Here Disenchanted with the finance and consulting tracks that once defined success, some elite college grads are trading desk jobs for grueling blue-collar work

Snatch and Grab Moments before Kim Kardashian testified against her burglars in a Parisian court, another kidnapping attempt was unfolding a few miles away—this time, targeting crypto world

Beware Qataris Bearing Gifts Trump’s latest foray into bribery comes in the form of a $400 million aerial sleazemobile, courtesy of a petro-state autocrat

Female Trouble What happens when a prodigal son falls under the influence of his older, American wife? The Beckhams are experiencing their own version of Megxit

Department of Insanity Move over, DOGE—Group Receiving Inducements For Trump (GRIFT), the president’s newest government agency, is draining the swamp, one luxury jet at a time

Marcy Blum’s Favorite Things After 40 years of producing high-profile nuptials, the event planner to the stars has mastered wedding magic. Here, she shares her tricks of the trade

The Attention-Whore Index Donald Trump covets a plane, Sean Combs craves baby oil, and Joe Biden regrets rien

Scandal in Venice Behind a glamorous façade of art galas and gallery openings, the handsome scion of the historic Bauer Hotel family was allegedly running a sham gynecologic practice, filming women for porn

The Connecticut Way of Death How my investigation into the disappearance of mother of five Jennifer Dulos went from In Cold Blood to Madame Bovary

A League of Their Own The American infiltration of European soccer clubs goes far beyond Ted Lasso. Welcome to Copenhagen’s A.B. team

One Night in the Tropics Under cover of darkness, armed men stormed a former British consul’s Ecuador ranch, kidnapping him and his girlfriend. Now he recounts their harrowing escape

The G-Man Writes Again Former F.B.I. director James Comey on working for George W. Bush and Barack Obama; advice for the current director, Kash Patel; and the art of his second act: writing thrillers

Lunch with Natasha Lyonne On this week’s Table for Two, everyone’s favorite gravel-voiced actress describes the target audience for Poker Face, why she should be the face of a pro-smoking ad campaign, and more

The Pathological Ironist Percival Everett, whose novel James won the Pulitzer Prize this month, talks Trump, Twain, and fighting darkness with humor

Getting Lit Literary salons are making a comeback in London, where live readings—complete with D.J.’s—are eclipsing nightclubs

To Infinity and Beyond! Space is so last season. The latest travel trend is all about stargazing from far-flung corners of the earth

Benito Skinner In his new series, Overcompensating, the 31-year-old comedian joins stars such as Megan Fox, Kaia Gerber, and Charli XCX to tell his coming-out story

Hollywood in Bloom From Come September to Love in the Afternoon, a look at the film industry’s most memorable celebrations of spring

Inside the Sexual-Abuse Scandal That’s Shocked Italy On this week’s podcast, Elena Clavarino looks at how a scion of one of Venice’s storied families went bad

Shakespeare on Pointe Balanchine’s 1962 adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a magical tale of love and longing, returns to New York City Ballet

The force behind Kroll Show and Big Mouth shares his least favorite things

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editor

Investigations Editor

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Junior Editors

Associate Editors

Art Director

Senior Photo Editor

Deputy Art Director

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

In Memoriam