Announcing the Winners of the 2026 AIR MAIL Tom Wolfe Prizes
The recipients are Sarah Anderson, for fiction, and Carlos Barragán, for reportage
Kelly Clarkson and the Bird That Divided Brooklyn
The singer’s claim that she got the Pretty Woman treatment in a ritzy New York toy store has sparked a frenzy of heated opinions
The Shadow of the Putney Pusher
Nine years after a jogger shoved a woman into the path of a London bus, a suspect with royal connections was arrested. Now he is dead, and his sisters want answers
The View from Here
A comedian’s modest proposals for the Democratic Socialists of America
“It’s Elizabeth Holmes … I Understand We’ll Be Making a Film Together”
The Theranos documentary that wasn’t
An Heir of Defiance
A quarter-billion-dollar fortune helped Fergie Chambers pursue his revolutionary ambitions. Now he’s in a Spanish prison, fighting to keep the country he loathes from bringing him home
Welcome to SlutCon
For the techies engineering our future, talking to actual women can be a daunting prospect. Fortunately, there’s a conference for that
The View from Here
Have we reached Peak Beatles?
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor may be a public disgrace—but England’s aristocrats won’t let that spoil their supper plans
The Dos and Don’ts of a Highland Ball
Scotland’s centuries-old ball circuit comes with a strict set of rules: learn the reels, never hire a kilt, and whatever you do, don’t take a picture
The Babe Ruth Truthers
With the baseball playoffs upon us, the strangest conspiracy theory is making its way through the nation’s dugouts
The AIR MAIL Diary
A South Korean A.I.-dating show! A Japanese crab-themed resort! And other strange stories from around the globe …
The Earl of Grievance
Charles Spencer’s new memoir takes aim at King Charles—but it also raises awkward questions about his own relationship with Diana
The Curious Case of the Missing Basquiat
For 16 years, a $20 million Basquiat was at the center of a bitter legal battle between an Oscar-winning Italian producer and his ex-wife. Then, just as mysteriously as it vanished, it turned up in a Miami warehouse
Grindr’s Bottom Line
Once “the scariest gay bar on earth,” Grindr is now courting Washington and Wall Street—and selling an ever more expensive route to a familiar destination
The View from Here
In 1980s New York, Donald Trump had the press in the palm of his hand. Only one satirical yet scrupulously reported magazine had the temerity to note the length of his fingers …
Harry and Meghan in the Court of the Cotswolds
In England’s toniest rural enclave, a royal title only gets you so far. Can the Sussexes charm the people who rule it?
A California Brouhaha in Scotland
The Outer Hebrides have weathered Vikings and Atlantic storms—but nothing could have prepared them for a litigious Hollywood scion and her dog, Lady Tarkina Snow Fire
From Russia with Likes
As Cold War–style propaganda becomes less effective, the Kremlin is getting its message out the 21st-century way: via online influencers
The View from Here
The American voter is a very unhappy customer right now—and management is about to get an earful
The Earl Making the Royals Squirm
Charles Spencer’s new memoir of his sister, Princess Diana, serves up a royal rogues’ gallery—from King Charles’s alleged elation at her death to tales of a light-fingered Prince Philip
The Recipe Site That Ate Itself
How Food52 went from a wholesome home-cook community to a $300 million e-commerce empire—and ended up being sold for spare parts
A Nepo Star Is Born
First they came for our movies and catwalks. Now the offspring of rock royalty—Gallaghers! Martins! Grohls!—are taking over music festivals. And a Beckham shall lead them
The View from Here
A forgotten 1970s film predicted an A.I. dictatorship. Why is Elon Musk such a fan?