The Strange Case of the Presidential-Pardon Pro
A top clemency expert’s story is even more twisted than his findings—including Rutherford B. Hayes’s 24 murder pardons
Lunar Tics
The rocket rivalry between Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk pits the former’s painstaking attention to detail against the latter’s explosive experimentation
From Brad to Worse
How a scammer impersonating Brad Pitt used A.I. imagery to seduce a wealthy French divorcée—and then conned her out of almost $1 million
Everything Old Is New Again
“Tablescaping” vs. “setting the table,” “preloved fashion” vs. “secondhand” … Is Gen Z really changing boomer habits or just rebranding them?
Fade to Black
With Twin Peaks and Mulholland Drive, David Lynch pioneered an avant-garde vision of Americana. And Main Street U.S.A. has never quite been the same
The View from Here
Who could have foreseen the destruction wrought by the wildfires in Los Angeles? Benjamin Franklin, for one
The Attention-Whore Index
Elon Musk is in a frenzy, Steve Bannon is green with envy, and Mark Zuckerberg seeks “masculine energy”
Red Between the Lines
There are no official censorship laws in Russia—but that doesn’t stop writers from being ostracized, fined, or arrested
Milan Banned Smoking. Locals Aren’t Having It
“I’m moving to Rome”: the Milanese react to a new law prohibiting smoking in public spaces
My Father, the Monster
In an excerpt from her new memoir, the daughter of Gisèle Pelicot explains exactly how she discovered her father’s crimes—in horrifying detail
The Perfect Spy
Newly declassified files offer a rare glimpse into the mind of Kim Philby, a K.G.B. mole within M.I.6 who was arguably Britain’s greatest traitor
Is Elon Going Full Yeezy?
With his undeniable genius, billions of dollars, and meddling Trump bro-hood, Elon Musk seems to be following the Kanye West path to a very public meltdown
It Ends with War
The alleged abuse on the set of Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni’s star-crossed film was only the beginning of a scandal that has now captivated Hollywood
A Short, Sordid History of Prince Andrew
From pedophile pals to a teddy-bear obsession, Randy Andy’s life story—condensed into one sentence
The Real Tradwife of Montecito
Meghan Markle is at it again—this time with a Netflix series channeling the housewife-influencer trend. Buckle up!
The View from Here
An architect who lost his Malibu masterpiece in the 2018 Woolsey Fire wants Los Angeles to rebuild, but in a radically new way
The Attention-Whore Index
Elon Musk is sticking his oar in, George Santos is enduring, and Matt Gaetz is concerned about his contouring
Bare Facebook Liar
Mark Zuckerberg has killed Meta’s fact-checking program, accusing it of political bias. One former fact-checker can’t believe it
The View from Here
Trying out for the Actors Studio was a trial by fire. But holding screen tests for porn films was no breeze, either
Robbing the Rich
Burglaries of the high-profile are on the rise across Europe—Prince William, Kim Kardashian, and Anya Taylor-Joy are among the victims
The Pen Is Stiffer Than the Sword
Tyler Bennett recalls the tips, tricks, and twists of writing erotica in which—unlike in porn films—context is everything
The Departure Lounge
From Oscar winners and auteurs to sex therapists and littérateurs, the year’s departed—condensed into one sentence
The Unwitting Muse
Can you steal someone’s life story? A lawsuit in France—against an award-winning novelist—seeks to find out
The Attention Whore of the Year Awards
Elon? Tucker? Joe? Whom did you choose as the biggest braggart and blowhard of 2024?
