May 31, 2025 – Air Mail

DRAMATIC IRONY

Donald Trump has taken over the Kennedy Center, banning “woke” content from its stages—so why is Les Misérables, a musical with a progressive message, set to be its first show under this administration?

An Englishman Abroad

A Brazilian judge convinced his colleagues he was a member of the British aristocracy. But it was all a sham—he had grown up on the mean streets of São Paulo …

TROUBLE AND STRIFE

A critical debate is raging about whether Brooklyn Beckham is subservient to his wife, Nicola Peltz Beckham. Isn’t this what everyone used to say about David and Victoria?

Doctored Doctors

Surprise, surprise: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s flagship “Make America Healthy Again” report is riddled with nonexistent citations and distorted research …

SEEING RED

A new William F. Buckley Jr. book captures the charming yet ruthless conservative icon who debated James Baldwin, feuded with Gore Vidal, and suggested AIDS victims’ buttocks be tattooed …

RATE EXPECTATIONS

Contrary to popular belief, there’s always room for negotiation when traveling abroad. Read our guide to haggling for the best price at Europe’s finest hotels …

LESSONS IN DELUSION

Cazzie David, daughter of Larry and author of an upcoming essay collection in which she reckons with her 20s, reveals her key components to the good life, from dirty martinis to Girls …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE …

Trudeau’s sneaker snafu … Succession gets the Silicon Valley treatment … Desi Arnaz, before I Love Lucy … behind the scenes of The Thick of It … a present-day Tom Wolfe, with a twist … the Collegio alla Querce, Auberge, is the best new place to stay in Florence …. Is Meghan Markle this week’s biggest Attention Whore?

Issue No. 307

The View from Here Why is Les Misérables, whose protagonist would’ve been shipped to El Salvador today, headlining Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover?

By Mattia Ferraresi

Read On

Lord of the Lies Inspired by his love for Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson, a São Paulo judge posed as a member of the British aristocracy for decades

By Stephen Gibbs

Read On

Science Fiction R.F.K. Jr. calls his “Make America Healthy Again” report the “gold standard,” citing 500 scientific studies. Trouble is, not all of them are real

By Joseph Gedeon

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Beck and Call Has American heiress Nicola Peltz stolen Brooklyn Beckham away from his illustrious family?

By Caitlin Moran

Read On

Anna Osceola’s Favorite Things The actress, currently filming Season Two of Your Friends & Neighbors with her husband, Jon Hamm, shares her picks for a home worth pilfering

Shop

Fashion Faux Pas Justin Trudeau’s latest look—worn to greet the King and Queen—raises the question: Should you wear sneakers with a suit?

By Hilary Rose and Jeremy Langmead

Read On

The Attention-Whore Index Kim Jong Un sinks his battleship, Sydney Sweeney sells her bathwater, and Emmanuel Macron savors a slap

By George Kalogerakis

Read On

LOOK Light, Sand, and Sea Put together, the words “art” and “Hamptons” usually bring to mind Jackson Pollock, splashing paint in his studio near East Hampton…

WEAR Vuori “Now that is a fabulous dress,” said a salesman at a very pricey boutique as this AIR MAIL correspondent exited the fitting…

DINE Dante x Claridge’s London isn’t exactly suffering from a deficiency of exciting places to eat and drink, but the city is still upping its game this…

BROWSE Roadside Architecture America’s roadside architecture—especially from the period after the First World War until the…

READ This Makes That For years, the Chicago-based cartoonist Ivan Brunetti taught art in college; new work was rare. Thankfully, the artist…

VISIT Giorgio Armani After gracing the shores of Porto Cervo, Cannes, and Capri, Giorgio Armani Mare drops anchor on the eastern tip of Long Island…

LOOK Light, Sand, and Sea Put together, the words “art” and “Hamptons” usually bring to mind Jackson Pollock, splashing paint in his studio near East Hampton…

WEAR Vuori “Now that is a fabulous dress,” said a salesman at a very pricey boutique as this AIR MAIL correspondent exited the fitting…

DINE Dante x Claridge’s London isn’t exactly suffering from a deficiency of exciting places to eat and drink, but the city is still upping its game this…

BROWSE Roadside Architecture America’s roadside architecture—especially from the period after the First World War until the…

READ This Makes That For years, the Chicago-based cartoonist Ivan Brunetti taught art in college; new work was rare. Thankfully, the artist…

VISIT Giorgio Armani After gracing the shores of Porto Cervo, Cannes, and Capri, Giorgio Armani Mare drops anchor on the eastern tip of Long Island…

The Art of the Five-Star Deal What do Positano reservationists have in common with Portobello Road antiques dealers? They haggle easily and often. Here’s exactly how to do it

By Ashley Baker

Read On

I Love Lucy’s Other Half Raised as a prince in pre-Guevara Cuba, Desi Arnaz fled to America and revolutionized TV with Lucille Ball—but he couldn’t escape the trauma of his youth

By Todd S. Purdum

Read On

James Wolcott On

Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America

by Sam Tanenhaus

Read On

A Bro Is Born How Cory Michael Smith went from growing up in blue-collar Ohio to playing a tech billionaire in Mountainhead, the new movie from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong

By Scarlett Russell

Read On

Blooming Great An installation by the artist Pip Carter arrives at Shreeji, the AIR MAIL newsstand in London

Photographs by Hubert Cecil

8

*Top,* Pip Carter unveiled her large-scale collage paintings at Shreeji, on Chiltern Street; *above,* Tom Hollander.

*Top,* Spike Carter, Jonathan Becker, Graydon Carter, and Dafydd Jones; *above,* Harry Lambert and Honor Cargill-Martin.

*Top,* Freddie Garland of Freddie’s Flowers, Lewis Malpas, and Lu Hough; *above,* Jess Piatigorsky and Lena Aires.

*Top,* Pip Carter and Ruthie Rogers; *above,* Harry Jarman and Joseph Bullmore.

*Top,* Vassi Chamberlain, Isabelle Harvie-Watt, and Emma Stannard; *above,* David Downton and Ottavia Palomba.

*Top,* Anda Rowland, Pip Carter, and Jonathan Becker; *above,* Sofia Fagring.

*Top,* Natalie Rucellai; *above,* Isaac Gill.

*Top,* Pip Carter; *above,* Mina Imsirovic and Nick Shelton.

Read On

The Making of The Thick of It: Part II The creators and cast reflect on the Britcom’s stickiest moments—including a scandal that nearly derailed the whole thing—and the show’s legacy today

By Tim Jonze

Read On

Dog Days With an essay by P. G. Wodehouse, a newly reissued coffee-table book collects 820 photographs of Elliott Erwitt’s most unexpected muse

13

A dachshund in Paris, photographed by Elliott Erwitt, 1970.

A Yorkshire terrier in Ballycotton, Ireland, 1968.

*Top,* bulldogs in New York, 2000; *above,* a pug in Paris, 1989.

*Top,* Labradors in Amagansett, New York, 1990; *above,* hunting dogs in Inverness, Scotland, 2011.

*Top,* a poodle in Birmingham, England, 1991; *above,* Amagansett, 1967.

Read On

“Based on your purchase of bullets, duct tape, and a silencer, you may also like a shovel.”

Making a Scene In Slauson Rec, a new behind-the-scenes documentary, Shia LaBeouf builds a theater company—then torches it with tantrums, tirades, and flying chairs

By Kevin Maher

Read On

Deadly Pleasures to Read and Watch A Bonfire of the Vanities for our times, and a family drama that follows a wealthy patriarch’s sudden death

By Lisa Henricksson

Read On

Conner Ives The 29-year-old fashion designer, who has dressed everyone from Rihanna to Ivy Getty, is only just getting started

By Carolina de Armas

Read On

Forget Roy Cohn. William F. Buckley Jr. Is the True Dark Knight of the Right On this week’s podcast, Sam Tanenhaus reveals how the writer set the agenda for Trump’s presidency

Read On

Sebastião Salgado The Brazilian photographer captured humanity in all its suffering and beauty, from the Amazon to Antarctica

Read On

Stealing the Scene Zero crowds and abundant pleasures make Collegio alla Querce, Auberge, the best new place to stay in Florence

By Mary Lussiana

Read On

“You crawled out of the primordial soup. You can handle an interview.”

Cazzie David

On the heels of her debut feature film, and ahead of a new essay collection, our columnist answers 50 of life’s most pressing questions

Read On

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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 David Yaffe

The View from Here Why is Les Misérables, whose protagonist would’ve been shipped to El Salvador today, headlining Trump’s Kennedy Center takeover?

Lord of the Lies Inspired by his love for Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson, a São Paulo judge posed as a member of the British aristocracy for decades

Science Fiction R.F.K. Jr. calls his “Make America Healthy Again” report the “gold standard,” citing 500 scientific studies. Trouble is, not all of them are real

Beck and Call Has American heiress Nicola Peltz stolen Brooklyn Beckham away from his illustrious family?

Wedding season and gift-giving go hand in hand. AIR SUPPLY’s trove of thoughtful, timeless gifts—Anderson & Sheppard cuff links, Emporio Sirenuse champagne flutes—has the happy couple, the bridal party, and your future spouse and in-laws covered

Anna Osceola’s Favorite Things The actress, currently filming Season Two of Your Friends & Neighbors with her husband, Jon Hamm, shares her picks for a home worth pilfering

Fashion Faux Pas Justin Trudeau’s latest look—worn to greet the King and Queen—raises the question: Should you wear sneakers with a suit?

The Attention-Whore Index Kim Jong Un sinks his battleship, Sydney Sweeney sells her bathwater, and Emmanuel Macron savors a slap

The Art of the Five-Star Deal What do Positano reservationists have in common with Portobello Road antiques dealers? They haggle easily and often. Here’s exactly how to do it

I Love Lucy’s Other Half Raised as a prince in pre-Guevara Cuba, Desi Arnaz fled to America and revolutionized TV with Lucille Ball—but he couldn’t escape the trauma of his youth

A Bro Is Born How Cory Michael Smith went from growing up in blue-collar Ohio to playing a tech billionaire in Mountainhead, the new movie from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong

Blooming Great An installation by the artist Pip Carter arrives at Shreeji, the AIR MAIL newsstand in London

The Making of The Thick of It: Part II The creators and cast reflect on the Britcom’s stickiest moments—including a scandal that nearly derailed the whole thing—and the show’s legacy today

Dog Days With an essay by P. G. Wodehouse, a newly reissued coffee-table book collects 820 photographs of Elliott Erwitt’s most unexpected muse

Making a Scene In Slauson Rec, a new behind-the-scenes documentary, Shia LaBeouf builds a theater company—then torches it with tantrums, tirades, and flying chairs

In his illustrations of war, the British artist George Butler adds color to the oft overlooked human experiences behind global conflicts

Deadly Pleasures to Read and Watch A Bonfire of the Vanities for our times, and a family drama that follows a wealthy patriarch’s sudden death

Conner Ives The 29-year-old fashion designer, who has dressed everyone from Rihanna to Ivy Getty, is only just getting started

Forget Roy Cohn. William F. Buckley Jr. Is the True Dark Knight of the Right On this week’s podcast, Sam Tanenhaus reveals how the writer set the agenda for Trump’s presidency

Sebastião Salgado The Brazilian photographer captured humanity in all its suffering and beauty, from the Amazon to Antarctica

Stealing the Scene Zero crowds and abundant pleasures make Collegio alla Querce, Auberge, the best new place to stay in Florence

On the heels of her debut feature film, and ahead of a new essay collection, our columnist answers 50 of life’s most pressing questions

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