V.I.C.’s—The New V.I.P.’s
Fashion-show seats and the odd freebie are no longer enough for luxury brands’ Very Important Clients. Cue candlelit dinners in ancient palazzos, regattas in the Caribbean … and a major case of keeping up with the Joneses
Marianne Mantell
With $1,500 in savings, she started a recording company that paved the way for the billion-dollar audiobook business
The Battle for Chinatown
In Los Angeles, the forces of gentrification face up against the long-term residents
The View from Here
Ahem, that better not be a cough
Grisly Business
When model Abby Choi’s body was found in pieces at a Hong Kong apartment, it didn’t take long for police to arrest her ex-husband
The Attention-Whore Index
This week sees the return of the prodigal prince to the top of the Index. Can he be overthrown by an even more querulous windbag? You decide!
The Fall and Fall of America’s Department Store
Eddie Lampert was a Wall Street wunderkind until he got his hands on Sears and, later, Kmart. He would become the scourge of one of the U.S.’s favorite retail franchises
Devil Baby
Cocaine killed my ex-husband. Now fentanyl—the worst drug the world has ever seen—has our daughter in its grip
Walter Mirisch
Raised in the era of silent movies, the Some Like It Hot producer, whose films won 28 Oscars, started out as an usher in a New Jersey theater
The Smear Heard Round the World
In the weeks after the 2020 election, Maria Bartiromo’s Fox News talk show became an open mike for Trump’s self-serving conspiracy theories
The Attention-Whore Index
This week’s dross rising to the top includes some old familiar names causing all-new commotions. Who is the unworthiest? You decide!
Double Black Diamond in the Rough
For those brave souls willing to make the journey, the Iraq Ski Rally offers untouched slopes and striking vistas. Just look out for land mines
When It Rains, It Pours
Relentless rainstorms have made a stretch of Los Angeles’s Bel Air neighborhood lose power—and its residents lose their cool
The View from Here
The war in Ukraine has not only killed and displaced millions of people but tens of thousands of horses, too
Nepo-Baby Nuptials
Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz may just be the ultimate bridezillas
The Attention-Whore Index
Will it be a familiar old contemptible or a striking new pretender who claims your attention this week? The decision is yours!
The Ultimate Map of New York and Its Drugs
From Xanax to cocaine to mushrooms, we break down the city’s drug scene by neighborhood
What We Do in the Shadows
To better understand toxic masculinity, a British mother joined TikTok and Snapchat—but as a 15-year-old boy named “Harry”
The View from Here
One year after Putin’s invasion, a refugee from Mariupol tries to forge a new life in Europe
Putin’s Meat Grinder
How Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former convict turned billionaire businessman, became the Russian president’s secret weapon—and loose cannon
Return of the Serpent
Charles Sobhraj, the serial killer known as “the Serpent,” recently returned to Paris after two decades in a Nepalese jail. What’s he planning next?
Uncut Gemstones
If the Safdie brothers made a movie about a Christian mega-church, it would look a lot like a Hillsong service
Eugene Lee
The theater, film, and TV designer was with Saturday Night Live from its inception, in 1975, to this month
Fake Friends
Lawyers, lovers, and lab results—artificial-intelligence bots ChatGPT and Google Bard promise a new version of reality
