Keeping Up with the Joneses
In the 1990s, Helen Fielding’s hilarious novel Bridget Jones’s Diary became a huge hit. Now revisionists are ruining the fun
The View from Here
A U.S. Air Force whistleblower has made dramatic new claims for the existence of U.F.O.’s. Is it enough to finally make us believe?
The View from Here
The Russian connection in the notorious Profumo case during the Cold War looks like a prequel to the first Trump presidential campaign
The Root of All Evil
Did a bizarre experiment using modern medical technology to reveal the secrets of demonic possession unleash a deadly curse on its participants?
Private-Jet Paradox
Wanna take mine or yours? Will the climate crisis ground the use of private planes or simply make the elite more secretive?
Glenda Jackson
The fearless stage-and-screen actress reached stardom in the 70s with Women in Love, A Touch of Class, and Elizabeth R, and continued performing until the end
Cat’s Out of the Bag
In the late 90s, Jocelyn Wildenstein became a tabloid sensation after her $2.5 billion divorce and as “the poster child for plastic surgery gone wrong.” Now she’s broke and the subject of a new HBO documentary series
An Intriguing New Model
Tesla aficionados who have lost their appetite for Elon Musk are turning to Lucid
Anyone for Fives? Anyone?
As Wimbledon approaches and the lawn-tennis season enters full swing, another, less vaunted ball sport is clinging to life
The View from Here
Pride flags in June are now as ubiquitous as tinsel in December. Yet, as a gay man, I’ve never felt more invisible within the L.G.B.T. movement
Match Point, Italian–Style
When a Milanese waiter’s mistress confronted his pregnant girlfriend about their affair, he took matters into his own gruesome hands
Sex, Drugs, and Bloody Murder
The gruesome killing of an aspiring model by a rich American playboy sent shock waves through Swinging London and its infamous Chelsea Set
I Am Important
Being exceptional is overrated. Perhaps it’s time to embrace the power of an ordinary life
Bling Empire
Vladimir Putin relocates his ex-wife and two daughters to “tsar’s village,” the “Versailles of the North,” an elite district surrounding his official residence west of Moscow
The View from Here
Bob Dylan’s masterly new album offers a ghostly narrative for our post-pandemic world
The House Always Wins
Sara King, the self-proclaimed “slot whisperer” of Las Vegas, used other people’s money to bet big. Then her luck ran out
Changing Places
Linda Fairstein put Yusef Salaam in prison for the attack on the Central Park jogger. He was exonerated and is running for office; she is excoriated and living as a pariah
Françoise Gilot
Picasso’s muse and lover who left him after 10 abusive years continued a successful career as an artist and memoirist in her own right
The Attention-Whore Index
Joe Biden makes a novel play for your attention. But can he beat such grizzled showboaters as Harry and Meghan, Tucker Carlson, and Donald Trump?
O Father, Where Art Thou?
Ignoring paternal advice can have long-standing consequences
Criminals Yesterday, Influencers Today
From O. J. Simpson to Anna “Delvey” Sorokin, Amanda Knox to the Tinder Swindler, ex-cons are social media’s new favorite thing
The Attention-Whore Index—Grand-Master Edition!
Sometimes you have to bow to the experts. For all Harry’s wails and Trump’s moans, the real masters of neediness can be found on Instagram
Surprise Ending
When former Simon & Schuster C.E.O. Richard Snyder died last week, he left two things in his wake: a legacy as a difficult but revolutionary publisher, and a fourth wife who wanted it all
The Bookman Goeth
Nobody read more—or faster—than Robert Gottlieb
