I Am Important
Being exceptional is overrated. Perhaps it’s time to embrace the power of an ordinary 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
An Intriguing New Model
Tesla aficionados who have lost their appetite for Elon Musk are turning to Lucid
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
The View from Here
Bob Dylan’s masterly new album offers a ghostly narrative for our post-pandemic world
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
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
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
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 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?
The View from Here
Silvio Berlusconi, the lying, womanizing, orange-tinted former Italian P.M. who died this week, resembled Trump, but not as much as they say. For one thing, he had charm
Rocket Woman
The most powerful politician in North Korea might not be “little rocket man” but his gatekeeper, chief adviser, and sibling, Kim Yo-jong
The Bookman Goeth
Nobody read more—or faster—than Robert Gottlieb
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
A Flap over a Mop
Some people tip their hairdresser. Boris Johnson gave his an M.B.E.
Prince of Wails
Harry spends hours and hours on the stand yet fails to provide any evidence that his phone was hacked during his $12.5 million therapy session
Rise of the Senior Swiftie
It’s not just tweens and teens who are knocked out by Taylor Swift. She’s a hit with the boomers too
The View from Here
Where the 1960s had love and the 1980s greed, the 2020s are quickly being defined by anger. Forget the Roaring 20s—welcome to the Raging 20s!
Poison Pen
A Utah mother of three allegedly killed her husband to collect on his life-insurance policy. Then she wrote a bereavement book for kids
Bend It Like M.B.S.
As the Gulf states jockey for control of the Arabian Peninsula, they’re waging battle through an unlikely proxy: European football
The Attention-Whore Index
Elon Musk rules the roost. Chris Licht gets the boot. Can Prince Harry reclaim his throne? Plus: the oddest news from around the world