{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"September 12, 2026 – Air Mail","description":"Welcome to Air Mail Issue number 374.","favicon":"https://static.airmail.news/assets/icons/apple-touch-icon.png","home_page_url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12","feed_url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12.json","items":[{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-view-from-here","title":"The View from Here","content_text":"It was more than three and a half decades ago, but I remember that time clear as a bell. I had just given birth to my daughter, Zoe, who emerged, with some hesitation, at less than seven pounds. She had tufts of strawberry-blond hair growing straight up from her scalp, like a mini-Mohawk; delicately etched eyebrows in the shape of accents circumflex; and a perfect rosebud mouth. As I cradled her in my arms, I felt the stirrings of many different feelings: love, pride, protectiveness, anxiety, and panic. Here was this tiny little girl, breathing almost imperceptibly, infinitely vulnerable, and wholly dependent on me for the foreseeable future. It wasn’t as though she had come as a surprise, and yet I didn’t feel ready. ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-view-from-here","summary":"It was more than three and a half decades ago, but I remember that time clear as a bell. I had just given birth to my daughter, Zoe, who emerged, with some hesitation, at less than seven pounds. She had...","tags":["The View from Here","But First ..."],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/clmeaq0vgc31zy8rcx3jw3z883cp-4c80feabbdb2ffbaea1608d51673b125.jpg","author":{"name":"Daphne Merkin"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/daphne-merkin\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eDaphne Merkin\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"Half of America sees Lindsay Clancy as a monster. The other half sees her as a kind of feminist heroine. The truth, I can say from bitter experience, is more complicated","shorts":false,"banner":"But First ...","category":"The View from Here"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/barry-blitts-sketchbook","title":"Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook","content_text":null,"url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/barry-blitts-sketchbook","summary":null,"tags":["Sketchbook","Barry Blitt's Sketchbook"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/accu7nnjykqtjva43cfojxyhkhrv-e67fb00a4bb6d384698b0710edc8ff1d.jpg","author":{"name":"Barry Blitt"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/barry-blitt\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eBarry Blitt\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":null,"shorts":false,"banner":"Barry Blitt's Sketchbook","category":"Sketchbook"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-unbearable-lightness-of-brooklyn","title":"The Unbearable Lightness of Brooklyn","content_text":"Alison Boshoff has two main beats as a show-business reporter at the Daily Mail: the Beckhams and the Sussexes. That in itself tells you something about the exalted position held by the Beckhams in British culture. Since David Beckham and Victoria Adams (as she then was) began dating in 1997, they have been the nearest thing to a celebrity version of the royal family.There’s another, more bitter parallel as well. In January this year Brooklyn, the Beckhams’ oldest child, posted what Boshoff repeatedly refers to as a “bombshell” Instagram post in which he accused his parents of ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-unbearable-lightness-of-brooklyn","summary":"Alison Boshoff has two main beats as a show-business reporter at the Daily Mail: the Beckhams and the Sussexes. That in itself tells you something about the exalted position held by the Beckhams in British culture. Since David Beckham and...","tags":["Modern Times","born under a brand sign"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/ujewvxoet2z4m80njza9wg6v925l-2b62b9aaab1507d3faa3584859a88f4b.jpg","author":{"name":"Sarah Ditum"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/sarah-ditum\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eSarah Ditum\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"A new biography on David and Victoria Beckham—\u003cem\u003eBrand Beckham—\u003c/em\u003ereveals the devastating toll the couple’s fame has taken on their son","shorts":false,"banner":"born under a brand sign","category":"Modern Times"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-dawn-of-punk","title":"The Dawn of Punk","content_text":"The first day of first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Coward, took the roll call and asked for a “Roderick.”All of us kids were laughing at such a goofy name until she asked for a “Roderick McNeil,” and I rushed to her desk and told Mrs. Coward my name was Eddie McNeil. She said, no, I was “Roderick” McNeil and pointed to the name in red hand-lettered attendance ledger.When I got home from school I approached my mom, who was washing dishes at the kitchen sink, and asked her why she didn’t tell me my real name was Roderick, and how had I gotten such a stupid name? Mom replied, non-plussed, “I have no idea, ask your father when you get to Heaven.” ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-dawn-of-punk","summary":"The first day of first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Coward, took the roll call and asked for a “Roderick.”All of us kids were laughing at such a goofy name until she asked for a “Roderick McNeil,” and I rushed to...","tags":["Books","the filth estate"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/cknalxrkvzch5amcmflhhqnk7kcs-9c87bb8ddae3a4f32f7dc5f88e5f8f4c.jpg","author":{"name":"Legs McNeil"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/legs-mcneil\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eLegs M\u003cem\u003ec\u003c/em\u003eNeil\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"The Ramones. Lou Reed. Talking Heads. Something special was happening in 1970s New York. It just needed a name …","shorts":false,"banner":"the filth estate","category":"Books"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-merchandise-of-belonging","title":"The Merchandise of Belonging","content_text":"You don’t arrive at the U.S. Open thinking you need a cap. But by the time you’ve walked from the subway to Arthur Ashe Stadium, you’ve begun to wonder why you haven’t got one. The merchandise starts to multiply: hats, sweatshirts, shopping bags, Ralph Lauren gear slung over shoulders and draped over arms, carried with all the satisfaction of the recently persuaded.The Open is very good at this. Everything looks less like merchandise and more like a uniform. I bought the cap.There’s a well-established wardrobe of affiliations: the concert T-shirt, the college sweatshirt, the publication tote. You don’t know whether you’ll reach for it next month, but in the moment it has one job—it says you were there and, perhaps, that you belong. ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-merchandise-of-belonging","summary":"You don’t arrive at the U.S. Open thinking you need a cap. But by the time you’ve walked from the subway to Arthur Ashe Stadium, you’ve begun to wonder why you haven’t got one. The merchandise starts to multiply: hats,...","tags":["Style","Notes on an Aesthetic"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/tlfjsmqbzh06qmx2nvp0lwtz2pa8-5f5c9d67b26b6d7361458ad9fa1f273b.jpg","author":{"name":"Jennifer Noyes"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/jennifer-noyes\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eJennifer Noyes\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"From Honey Deuce cups to Ralph Lauren caps, the U.S. Open gives spectators plenty to take in besides the tennis","shorts":false,"banner":"Notes on an Aesthetic","category":"Style"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/dress-code/style/2026/9/states-of-style","title":"States of Style","content_text":"The most consequential thing that has ever happened to American fashion was a scheduling decision. Twenty-eight years later, the schedule is the least interesting thing about it.In the fall of 1998, Helmut Lang moved his spring show to New York six weeks early, ahead of London, Milan, and Paris. Calvin Klein followed within days, Donna Karan after him—three designers tired of showing last, and tired of shaking off unfounded accusations of copying the French. Within a season, the international calendar had re-arranged itself around them, and American fashion spent the next two decades at the front of the world’s attention. ...","url":"https://airmail.news/dress-code/style/2026/9/states-of-style","summary":"The most consequential thing that has ever happened to American fashion was a scheduling decision. Twenty-eight years later, the schedule is the least interesting thing about it.In the fall of 1998, Helmut Lang moved his spring show to New York...","tags":["Style","National Treasures"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/uyhnpc9ggv1jmgbms0l20mrm1ajx-6dc45af1ab7d08d36a213f7414211c7f.jpg","author":{"name":"Jessica Joffe"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/jessica-joffe\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eJessica Joffe\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"Nearly 30 years after New York muscled its way to the front of the fashion calendar, American style is as potent as ever—but not in the way we expect","shorts":false,"banner":"National Treasures","category":"Style"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/moncler","title":"Moncler","content_text":"The Italian puffers that put Moncler on the map finally have a new home. It’s been almost 75 years since the brand found its footing ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/moncler","summary":"The Italian puffers that put Moncler on the map finally have a new home. It’s been almost 75 years since the brand found its footing ...","tags":["Recommended","Best"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/3gpr5kh29k3pfuewdkzpjyv6xt45-d6631b160fd1be0d7fd7ca1bb72b9d4f.png","author":{"name":"Maggie Turner"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/maggie-turner\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eMaggie Turner\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"visit","shorts":true,"banner":"Best","category":"Recommended"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/redwood","title":"Redwood","content_text":"No one spins a better true spy yarn than Ben Macintyre, as fans of Operation Mincemeat, Agent Sonya, and The Spy and the Traitor know ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/redwood","summary":"No one spins a better true spy yarn than Ben Macintyre, as fans of Operation Mincemeat, Agent Sonya, and The Spy and the Traitor know ...","tags":["Recommended","Best"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/emgyae5mjsk84e6609cordmocqsy-4eecaf0abf09f6eddce1304c34a9e16b.png","author":{"name":"Jim Kelly"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/jim-kelly\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eJim Kelly\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"read","shorts":true,"banner":"Best","category":"Recommended"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/doubles","title":"Doubles","content_text":"There is no better time to swan around the eastern tip of Long Island than after “Tumbleweed Tuesday,” when all the summer people ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/doubles","summary":"There is no better time to swan around the eastern tip of Long Island than after “Tumbleweed Tuesday,” when all the summer people ...","tags":["Recommended","Best"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/n7ekdkot8ql8e8tzo316harp5qb8-15e677400401391366369294f0c5d257.jpg","author":{"name":"Victoria Herman"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/victoria-herman\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eVictoria Herman\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"dine","shorts":true,"banner":"Best","category":"Recommended"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-extraordinary-ordinary","title":"The Extraordinary Ordinary","content_text":"John Baer, who served in the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion during World War II, received a Leica ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-extraordinary-ordinary","summary":"John Baer, who served in the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion during World War II, received a Leica ...","tags":["Recommended","Best"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/u36tj7jh55eirjhlwnywv4kmnbl9-18246cc55800750d0e3e7f7bfa6551dc.png","author":{"name":"Gabriella Maestri"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/gabriella-maestri\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eGabriella Maestri\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"look","shorts":true,"banner":"Best","category":"Recommended"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/an-autumn-afternoon","title":"An Autumn Afternoon","content_text":"The Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu pondered the tension between tradition and modernity within ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/an-autumn-afternoon","summary":"The Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu pondered the tension between tradition and modernity within ...","tags":["Recommended","Best"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/d9g7ep2b0s88c44n0dhlwcqjpvlt-c02bfbf491531138c990cbaaed0756ef.png","author":{"name":"Eve Eismann"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/eve-eismann\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eEve Eismann\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"watch","shorts":true,"banner":"Best","category":"Recommended"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/sez-i-to-myself","title":"Sez I to Myself","content_text":"In 1996, a retired Stuyvesant High School English teacher named Frank McCourt published an account of his hardscrabble childhood ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/sez-i-to-myself","summary":"In 1996, a retired Stuyvesant High School English teacher named Frank McCourt published an account of his hardscrabble childhood ...","tags":["Recommended","Best"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/0a0ttr3r37v1dn31p3cbdzea5elb-17d21e13f0696fa76f8327e2273a70ef.png","author":{"name":"Paulina Prosnitz"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/paulina-prosnitz\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003ePaulina Prosnitz\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"read","shorts":true,"banner":"Best","category":"Recommended"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-women-who-run-the-west-village","title":"The Women Who Run the West Village","content_text":"I was sitting with Jody Williams and Rita Sodi on an early-summer afternoon, sipping espresso alfresco at Via Carota, their beloved Italian restaurant in the West Village of New York City, when I asked the two chefs, who are partners in business as well as in life, why their restaurants rise above so many others. Why do people carry such a devotion not just to Via Carota but to their four other spots in the neighborhood: I Sodi, Buvette, Bar Pisellino, and the Commerce Inn? With the news that they will soon be expanding their portfolio uptown, to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Flatiron Building, I was eager to know how they’d maintain the magic. ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-women-who-run-the-west-village","summary":"I was sitting with Jody Williams and Rita Sodi on an early-summer afternoon, sipping espresso alfresco at Via Carota, their beloved Italian restaurant in the West Village of New York City, when I asked the two chefs, who are partners...","tags":["Food and Drink","The art of the Meal"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/ddgzviksz9orkxfsf1vcry4ocgr9-30950c92ad635d7b90d4091e0dc91fc4.jpg","author":{"name":"Michael Hainey"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/michael-hainey\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eMichael Hainey\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"Rita Sodi and Jody Williams have built five of the neighborhood’s most beloved restaurants. Now the duo behind Via Carota are heading to the Met and the Flatiron Building","shorts":false,"banner":"The art of the Meal","category":"Food and Drink"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/funny-faces","title":"Funny Faces","content_text":"Jeff Garlin loves doing stand-up and being onstage, and audiences love how much HE loves being up there.I’ve known him a long time—since we were twenty-three years old or so—standing in the back of comedy clubs and picking apart every established act, like we had actually done anything yet. But even then, long before we had earned any justifiable attitude, the audience could tell how comfortable Jeff was standing onstage, owning that space, talking, and mostly being really, really silly—sometimes, random and absurd—and, occasionally, even telling a direct, uncomfortable truth, often about himself. And that’s all fine and dandy \u0026#8230; ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/funny-faces","summary":"Jeff Garlin loves doing stand-up and being onstage, and audiences love how much HE loves being up there.I’ve known him a long time—since we were twenty-three years old or so—standing in the back of comedy clubs and picking apart every...","tags":["Books","Open Book"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/grl8mpdqukmmv2hbyl0wpfstiwwk-1a8cd3d711359766729127259f4bccd4.jpg","author":{"name":"Bob Odenkirk"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/bob-odenkirk\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eBob Odenkirk\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"Mel Brooks, Larry David, Diane Keaton … A new coffee-table book offers an inside look at the comedy world through behind-the-scenes photographs by \u003cem\u003eCurb Your Enthusiasm’\u003c/em\u003es Jeff Garlin","shorts":false,"banner":"Open Book","category":"Books"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/books/2026/9/announcing-the-short-list-for-the-2026-tom-wolfe-prizes","title":"Announcing the 2026 Tom Wolfe Prizes Short List","content_text":"There will never be another Tom Wolfe—that much is indisputable. But, as we here at AIR MAIL discovered over the course of our ongoing search for the winners of the second annual Tom Wolfe Prizes, there are more than a few who have picked up his mantle, diagnosing society’s ailments with a combination of precision and flair.From the field of reportage, they have chronicled Nigeria’s romance-scam economy, Silicon Valley’s training ground, the modern masculinity crisis, the modern marriage crisis, and psychedelic toads. In fiction, they are no less attuned to the absurdities of the present, taking on 21st-century capitalism, the anxieties of the immigrant community, the false Bohemia of downtown New York, and tech-bro culture. ...","url":"https://airmail.news/books/2026/9/announcing-the-short-list-for-the-2026-tom-wolfe-prizes","summary":"There will never be another Tom Wolfe—that much is indisputable. But, as we here at AIR MAIL discovered over the course of our ongoing search for the winners of the second annual Tom Wolfe Prizes, there are more than a...","tags":["Books"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/1hm3ktrqzy46jj2q9m2n244irky7-027121379acc0d7fba28e46fbfdb0ba8.png","date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":null,"subhead":"Meet the 12 finalists in fiction and reportage for year two of AIR MAIL’s literary awards …","shorts":false,"banner":"Books","category":"Books"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/murder-they-wrote","title":"Murder, They Wrote","content_text":"Perhaps the culprit is our collective shattered attention span, but mystery-and-crime-fiction series aren’t hitting the best-seller lists the way they used to, which is a shame because we could all use a little comfort right now. There’s joy to be had in re-encountering familiar characters in new situations, and of seeing an increasingly fractured world put to rights—on the page, at least.These three books are all the third in a series, so the writers are still playing with their formulas and keeping them fresh.It may not be strictly accurate to call Janice Hallett’s new novel part of a series. Let’s just say she’s fond enough of the disaster-prone Fairway Players community-theater group to revisit it from time to time. Her first book, ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/murder-they-wrote","summary":"Perhaps the culprit is our collective shattered attention span, but mystery-and-crime-fiction series aren’t hitting the best-seller lists the way they used to, which is a shame because we could all use a little comfort right now. There’s joy to be...","tags":["Books"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/nud6leejj805wkc3rg6vurp5lxx7-71c9f6d55e0a774b0acedf9a0346478f.jpg","author":{"name":"Lisa Henricksson"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/lisa-henricksson\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eLisa Henricksson\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"A new Martini Club adventure! The wisecracking Detective Miller returns! This month, our mystery columnist makes the case for the crime-fiction series","shorts":false,"banner":"Books","category":"Books"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/wellness/2026/9/mirrors-never-lie","title":"Mirrors Never Lie","content_text":"Where’s your favorite mirror? Mine is in London, where I grew up: a nondescript rectangular one that’s hung in the hallway of my parents’ house for as long as I can remember. Checking myself in it moments before opening the door has always been a B12-like injection of confidence; I never fail to look thinner and younger. I call it the “Lie to Me” mirror, a plausible fib in a glance that’s a prescription-free GLP-1.And we all have—or should have—one of those mirrors in our life that would soothe even the most evil stepmother. But what makes some mirrors so much more flattering than others? After all, my go-to is unremarkable in form but a miracle of function. ...","url":"https://airmail.news/wellness/2026/9/mirrors-never-lie","summary":"Where’s your favorite mirror? Mine is in London, where I grew up: a nondescript rectangular one that’s hung in the hallway of my parents’ house for as long as I can remember. Checking myself in it moments before opening the...","tags":["Wellness","Reflections"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/j27t5fqxv8e3mv6vg1u6980156bs-6532fcca5685b8e3fd97de37b934a8ca.png","author":{"name":"Mark Ellwood"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/mark-ellwood\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eMark Ellwood\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"Or so they say. The trick is to find one that shows you at your best","shorts":false,"banner":"Reflections","category":"Wellness"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/becoming-gloria-steinem","title":"Becoming Gloria Steinem","content_text":"When Barbara Nessim answers the video call from her apartment in New York City on Friday morning, the first thing she says is: “You wouldn’t be calling me if it weren’t for Gloria, you wouldn’t be working, you wouldn’t have a job.”The 87-year-old artist is talking, of course, about her lifelong friend and former roommate, Gloria Steinem. We were speaking the day after the pioneering feminist’s death at the age of 92 was announced to the world. The second-wave feminism of which Steinem became a figurehead is the reason why women like me “are respected,” working and independent, says Nessim. “That’s her legacy.” ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/becoming-gloria-steinem","summary":"When Barbara Nessim answers the video call from her apartment in New York City on Friday morning, the first thing she says is: “You wouldn’t be calling me if it weren’t for Gloria, you wouldn’t be working, you wouldn’t have...","tags":["News","Girls just wanna have rights"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/i6rvzi7xhs548dlkwke32tzm5807-c500b56da418e66ec71e9cfbab87d831.jpg","author":{"name":"Madeleine Spence"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/madeleine-spence\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eMadeleine Spence\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"The artist Barbara Nessim recalls how she and the future feminist icon lived together, danced together—and shared a fierce determination not to settle down","shorts":false,"banner":"Girls just wanna have rights","category":"News"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/haruomi-hosonos-swan-song","title":"Haruomi Hosono’s Swan Song","content_text":"“I am now 78 years old,” Haruomi Hosono said earlier this year, in a statement announcing his 23rd studio LP, Yours Sincerely, “but from here on, I feel a growing curiosity toward the unknown music that my new self will create, while also embracing the music of my former self—as if I now carry two musical worlds within me.” The title for the album—Hosono’s first release of new music in more than seven years—is his attempt to render the Japanese-language expression omoiyari in English. “I searched, but no word felt quite right. Each came close, yet carried a slightly different nuance.... I turned to a more familiar word often used to close a letter: ‘Sincerely.’” ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/haruomi-hosonos-swan-song","summary":"“I am now 78 years old,” Haruomi Hosono said earlier this year, in a statement announcing his 23rd studio LP, Yours Sincerely, “but from here on, I feel a growing curiosity toward the unknown music that my new self will...","tags":["Culture","Highlight"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/4tf60yyirgfxxi95dfw26pdmb85h-310d15c581bb6b3b78315865ca3070ac.jpg","author":{"name":"Spike Carter"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/spike-carter\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eSpike Carter\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"The Japanese singer, whose eclectic musical career has influenced artists from David Bowie to Sofia Coppola, returns with his first album in seven years","shorts":false,"banner":"Highlight","category":"Culture"}},{"id":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-talk-of-london-town","title":"The Talk of London Town","content_text":"London has so many good hotels that New Yorkers understandably feel a little underserved with our options at home. Where is our Claridge’s? We don’t even have the Plaza anymore! We get our revenge, as it were, by crossing the Atlantic and checking in and establishing ourselves at the bar. Everybody wins. The next great reason to head over is to check in at the superb St. Clement, at 180 the Thames, which opened early this month.The people who love London know a good thing when they see one, and St. Clement had attracted attention all summer before ...","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12/the-talk-of-london-town","summary":"London has so many good hotels that New Yorkers understandably feel a little underserved with our options at home. Where is our Claridge’s? We don’t even have the Plaza anymore! We get our revenge, as it were, by crossing the...","tags":["Travel","View With a Room"],"image":"https://photos.airmail.news/itpdl57yajk7x504g0ir0lib6yhr-c36d3f52d3ec3b7fda4772992e2cdd23.jpg","author":{"name":"David Coggins"},"date_published":"2026-09-12T06:00:00.000-04:00","_issue":{"name":"September 12, 2026","date":"2026-09-12","url":"https://airmail.news/issues/2026-9-12"},"_article":{"byline_html":"\u003cem\u003eBy\u003c/em\u003e \u003ca href=\"/david-coggins\" data-purpose=\"author\" class=\"text-inherit\"\u003eDavid Coggins\u003c/a\u003e","subhead":"Four years after leaving Soho House, its founder, Nick Jones, is back with St. Clement, an ambitious new hotel on the Thames","shorts":false,"banner":"View With a Room","category":"Travel"}}]}