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Episodes84

Updated4 months ago

About

Episodes

Clara Molot

How Yale Got Spared

From Harvard to UVA to Columbia, elite colleges are reeling from Trump’s crackdowns. So why has the New Haven Ivy—considered a bastion of liberalism for the past decade—felt none of his wrath?By Clara MolotIt’s 2015 and Yale’s campus is divided over Halloween.“It is not about creating an intellectual space.... It’s about creating a home here,” a student screams at her headmaster, Nicholas Christakis. A crowd of classmates snap in approval. “You’re disgusting,” the student yells.The confrontation came hours after Christakis’s wife and fellow Yale professor, Erika, responded to a school-wide e-mail advising students to be thoughtful about their Halloween costumes. Her memo, questioning whether free expression might include offensive dress, was swiftly branded by students as racially insensitive. The uproar drove the Christakises from the university and, in the public’s perception, placed Yale at the center of elite and unfettered wokeism.READ ON

13 mins

Gracie Wiener

Laufey

With her new album,A Matter of Time,the 26-year-old Icelandic-Chinese singer, known for blending jazz into pop music, leaves behind the innocent image that once defined herBy Gracie WienerJazz and bossa nova have found an unexpected new audience, thanks to an equally unexpected source: Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, the 26-year-old, Icelandic-Chinese, professionally trained alto known as Laufey, who has won over Gen Z with her contemporary take on these classic genres.Since rising to fame on TikTok during the coronavirus lockdown, she’s racked up more than six million Instagram followers, won a Grammy Award, and become a darling of the fashion world. She’s now getting ready to release her third album,A Matter of Time,out on August 22—and with it, she’s shedding the sweet, innocent image that once defined her.READ ON

5 mins

Elena Clavarino

Rage and Ravioli on Lake Garda

Italy’s Rana family, of the global pasta empire, is rumored to be in hot water with locals over renovations to a historic estate on Lake Garda better suited to Las Vegas than to Como’s quainter cousinBy Elena ClavarinoItaly’s Lake Garda is only a two-hour drive from Como, and while it doesn’t attract the George Clooney set, it is arguably just as majestic. Fog clings to the surrounding mountains, dotted with small, colorful villages. In the summer months, the dark water brightens and shimmers a luminous blue. It features in Dante’sDivine Comedy,and D. H. Lawrence, who spent six months on its shores, called it “a lake as beautiful as the beginning of creation.”Nearly 500 years earlier, on a rocky outcrop between the towns of Corno and Acque Fredde, Punta San Vigilio, an estate overlookingREAD ON

11 mins

Linda Wells

Whip My Hair

Is your hair too frizzy, too lank, too fine, too curly, too anemic, too stringy? Jennifer Aniston’s hairdresser is here to change that—and your attitude—forever.By Linda WellsYou know those stories that start with, “There are two kinds of people in the world?” No, there aren’t. Where this subject is concerned, there is one kind of person in the world, and that is everyone who complains about their hair. It’s everyone who has no earthly idea what to do with their hair. It explains bangs and remorse for bangs. It explains perms, too, but fortunately, most people who hate their hair know that there’s only one thing worse than their hair, and that’s their hair permed.Oh, wait! I actually know someone who likes her hair. She waltzes into a party looking like Catherine Deneuve inREAD ON

6 mins

Linda Wells

On the Nose with Christine Nagel

The smells that inspire the fragrance mastermind at HermèsBy Linda WellsChristine Nagel might just have the best job in the world. As the in-house perfumer for Hermès, she’s free to follow her impulses, unhampered by deadlines, market research, or focus groups. She also possesses a custom Birkin with pouches and pockets to hold all her perfume tools.Nagel’s inspirations are wide and unexpected, from childhood memories to adult phobias. Her profound fear of horses posed certain challenges—given Hermès’s deep roots in the equestrian world—and spurred her to create several unlikely fragrances.Her latest success is Barénia, a chypre that blends oakmoss, butterfly lily from Madagascar, and patchouli, which tendsREAD ON

8 mins

Harrison Vail

Fancy Feast

Does your cocktail party lack heft and grandeur? Enter thedînatoire,an entertaining trend that’s sweeping New YorkBy Harrison Vail“There’s a seductive ambiguity to theapéro dinatoire,” says party planner Bronson van Wyck, whose clients have included Madonna, Beyoncé, and Hillary Clinton. “It’s a cocktail party. It’s a dinner. It’s foreplay. The French have always excelled at the art of suggestion.”One of the grandest—and most obnoxious—traditions in the English language has always been the importation of French words to euphemize, to elevate, to distract.So it will come as no surprise, for those particularly (ahem)au faitwith the smartest salons of the Anglophone world, that a new import has emerged on the already crowded linguistic scene: theREAD ON

4 mins

Jennifer Noyes

The Boats That Rocked

In Monaco, 50-knot, all-electric boats owned by Tom Brady, Rafael Nadal, and Will Smith raced against a glimmering backdrop of Birkins and the MediterraneanBy Jennifer NoyesFirst it was a tequila brand. Or a lifestyle line. Then something wellness-adjacent involving adaptogens. After that came a philanthropy that’s helping someone, somewhere, probably. But for the modern star—whether you were once the fastest, funniest, or most followed in the world—those moves are now baseline.Want to show you’ve really made it? Buy a team.Not a football team. Definitely not a pickleball league. A racing team. One with your name on the hull of a 50-knot, all-electric boat that skims across the most beautiful harbors in the world in total silence.That, at least, is the pitch behind the E1 Series, a new powerboat championship that’s quickly becoming the latest status symbol among members of the 1 percent.READ ON

4 mins

Ashley Baker

<em>Too Much</em> Is Just Right

Lena Dunham’s new TV show is a sharp, funny, expat rom-com that blurs the line between her life and art—as alwaysBy Ashley BakerToo many people are predisposed to disliking the work of Lena Dunham. It’s really a shame, because her new Netflix series,Too Much,is so much fun.It concerns a New Yorker in her early 30s who breaks up with her boyfriend, moves to London, has a meet-cute with a musician, and falls deeply in love. Sound familiar? You may have witnessed a similar storyline unfolding on Dunham’s Instagram page; she co-createdToo Muchwith Luis Felber, whom she married not long after she landed at Heathrow in 2021.Dunham’s tendency to overshare can be a turnoff to thoseREAD ON

4 mins

Clara Molot

Charlotte Cardin

With her fame on the rise, the 30-year-old singer is staying true to her Quebecois rootsBy Clara Molot“Iwas very lucky growing up,” says Charlotte Cardin. “I had a really beautiful childhood.” The 30-year-old Quebecois singer is calling from her apartment inMontreal, near Mount Royal, the quiet suburban town where she and her older sister, Camille, spent their days riding bikes, playing soccer, and dancing in the living room to their parents’ favorite songs. “There was always music in the house,” she says. “My dad’s a huge rock ’n’ roll guy, and my mom loved French [singers].” Her sister added pop to the mix. “That’s when I discovered girl bands—and Celine, Britney, Christina,” she says with a laugh. “I was hooked.”READ ON

4 mins

Elena Clavarino

The Old Bronzes and the Sea

A new investigation suggests the Riace bronzes, long a point of pride for Calabrians, were not found in the land of Ulysses but, rather, smuggled thereBy Elena ClavarinoOn August 16, 1972, in Riace, a quaint town on Calabria’s “Rainbow Coast,” formerly the land of Ulysses, the sea shimmered as sluggish holiday-makers lounged on the beach. It was Ferragosto, Italy’s national summer holiday, when schools close, cities empty, the coastlines fill, and also when a Roman chemist named Stefano Mariottini was on vacation.That afternoon, Mariottini went diving, hunting for amberjacks and sea bream with his speargun. Twenty-six feet below the surface, he spotted something strange poking out of the sand. At first, it looked like a human hand.Could it be a body?he wondered. But as he brushed the sediment away, he realized it was something else entirely. “As I cleaned,” he told the Italian newspaperREAD ON

8 mins

Carolina de Armas

Megan Stalter

FromHacksto Lena Dunham’s new TV show, the Ohio-born actress isn’t afraid to be sensitive, theatrical, and “way too loud”By Carolina de ArmasBritney Spears once sang, “There’s only two types of people in the world / The ones that entertain and the ones that observe.” Megan Stalter always knew she was the former; it was just a matter of when she’d get the spotlight and a willing audience. At 34 years old, the actress is finally taking center stage inToo Much,a semi-autobiographical romantic-comedy series fromGirlscreator Lena Dunham, starring Will Sharpe, Emily Ratajkowski, Naomi Watts, and Andrew Rannells.Stardom wasn’t something nicely wrapped and handed to Stalter. She may have been born with a gift and a dream,READ ON

4 mins

Megan Stalter

Linda Wells

Life Saver

Wouldn’t it be nice to age backward? That’s the implicit promise of the new take-charge health testing platforms that want you to get intimate with your biomarkersBy Linda WellsI’m not the biggest fan of numbers; just ask my accountant. I’d rather not convert Celsius to Fahrenheit, and when my flight to Rome is listed as 21:10, I panic a little, fairly certain I’ll miss it. But I found a number I could love, and it’s the one that Function Health delivered to me with a whole pile of data after I opened a vein and filled 20 vials of blood for testing. My biological age is 10 years younger than my chronological one. That’s a hot number!It didn’t take me long to stop gloating. Dr. Mark Hyman, the functional medicine doctor who co-founded Function Health and wrote 10 books, includingREAD ON

6 mins

Spike Carter

A Photo Finish

Forty-five years afterThe Shining’s release, a reporter and an academic doggedly tracked down the original version of the eerie photograph that Kubrick chose to close the film withBy Spike CarterStanley Kubrick really knew how to end a movie. Once seen, the Star Child coda to the “Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite” sequence of2001: A Space Odysseycan never be forgotten, condensing the climax of the short story on which it’s based into one indelible image. And is there anything at once more beautiful, funny, and horrifying than Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet Again” playing over the doomsday dénouement ofDr. Strangelove? These unshakable, vaguely nebulous finales are in many ways the key to the remarkable shelf life of Kubrick’s filmography.The most enduringly mysterious ending of the lot, though, belongs toREAD ON

3 mins

Carolina de Armas

Bessie Carter

The daughter of Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter lands the lead role in the new Mitford-sisters series,OutrageousBy Carolina de ArmasFor the 31-year-old actress Bessie Carter, playing the English writer Nancy Mitford in BritBox’s new historical drama,Outrageous,was like reconnecting with an old friend. While casting the show, premiering on Wednesday, few on the production team knew that Carter had already been on a long date with Mitford—seven hours and 38 minutes, to be exact—having narrated her most celebrated novel,The Pursuit of Love(1945), for Audible in 2021.Born the eldest of seven (six girls) in an aristocratic family that can best be described as posh but not flush, Mitford wrote what she knew. Now she and her sisters—Pam, Diana,READ ON

4 mins

Gracie Wiener

The Wicked Witches of Etsy

Finding witches to do your bidding, be it casting a spell on a crush or a curse on a boss, is now as easy as paying $15 on the mom-and-pop online marketplaceBy Gracie WienerFeeling hopeless in love, at work, in life? Hire a witch!Nowadays, finding a witch doesn’t have to involve a swimming test or a trek into a dark forest—it’s as easy as logging on to Etsy. Yes, the online, small-shop marketplace known for quirky handmade items and unique vintage pieces has become a breeding ground for witchcraft.On the site, prices range from $1.37 (75 percent off!) to $50,000 (a pact that, apparently, involves selling your soul), with witches and warlocks offering various services and at differing levels of experience. Want to know when and where you’ll meet your soulmate?READ ON

6 mins

Spike Carter

Beyond Repair

As secondhand-clothing sales boom, the fashion brand Toast is making old clothes better than newBy Spike CarterIn 2018, the New England outfitter L.L. Bean discontinued their famed no-proof-of-purchase lifetime-returns policy, which the retailer had offered since its founding, in 1912. The new policy instituted a dramatically reduced, one-year return window, a sad shift that seemed to suggest the company’s waning interest in engendering customer confidence by producing items with longevity in mind.That same year, on the other side of the Atlantic, the U.K.-based clothing brand Toast began trialing textile repairs through workshops in their stores. By providing tutorials on traditional craft techniques—such as Japanesesashikostitching and knitwear darning—for garments in need of mending,READ ON

4 mins

Linda Wells

The Birkin Bag of Workouts

Since when did a single Pilates class cost $500? The slow-and-steady workout is now the height of luxury—and the depths of madnessBy Linda WellsIt used to be the sleepiest exercise in the land. You could perform it lying down in full hair and makeup. When I did a stint at Pilates about 15 years ago, I’d wedge my sessions between work and dinner, knowing I wouldn’t have to shower and patch myself together afterward. It was no sweat. As in, I didn’t sweat.Doesn’t that sound calming? Well, kiss those days goodbye because now, Pilates is a blood sport.Athletic, aspirational, exclusive, elite. All the fancy words. It’s the Chez Margaux, Zero Bond, Casa Cipriani, and San Vicente of exercise. Did I leave anything out? It’s inaccessible to just about everyone but the Haileys, Kendalls, Kaias, and Bellas. In short, because I love an analogy: It’s the Birkin bag of workouts.READ ON

7 mins

The Birkin Bag of Workouts

Ashley Baker

The French Way

Who knew that the most beauty-obsessed women in Paris are regulars at Le Royal Monceau hotel? We observed them in their natural habitat—and took notesBy Ashley BakerI wasn’t expecting to get a masterclass in French beauty in the lobby of Le Royal Monceau Raffles Paris hotel. But as I looked out at a sea of angular bobs among the tables at Il Carpaccio, its Italian restaurant, I nibbled focaccia and took notes.If you’re looking for the Paris of TikTok and a marketing executive named Emily, you’ve come to the wrong place. The scene at the Royal Monceau is straight out ofLa Maison, Apple TV’sSuccession-like drama about a French fashion house. I mistook three women for Amira Casar, who plays a feisty model-muse, before ordering my rigatoni.READ ON

4 mins

Carolina de Armas

Conner Ives

The 29-year-old fashion designer, who has dressed everyone from Rihanna to Ivy Getty, is only just getting startedBy Carolina de Armas“It’s been a manic day,” says the American fashion designer Conner Ives from his studio, inLondon. His six-person team is still navigating, and reveling in, the aftermath of their recent BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund–award win, which granted them more than $200,000 to support Ives’s eponymous label. “I mean, how could you say no to that?”Winning the award marks the latest in a series of achievements for the 29-year-old designer, who, since launching his brand in 2021, has styled Met Gala looks for Adwoa Aboah and Ivy Getty, staged multiple runway shows at London Fashion Week, and raised nearly $1 million for an L.G.B.T.Q.+ charity.READ ON

6 mins

Jack Sullivan

Front Lines

In his illustrations of war, the British artist George Butler adds color to the oft overlooked human experiences behind global conflictsBy Jack SullivanOn February 24, 2022, most of us watched the news with shock. George Butler, however, was considering whether to pack his bags. Vladimir Putin had just launched a “special military operation” against Ukraine—a full-scale multi-front invasion, complete with air strikes. Butler, a British reportage illustrator, needed to decide if he should risk his life on the front lines covering it.That question is one Butler, now 40, has asked himself routinely over the last 20 years. Born in the Cotswolds, in England, he attended Kingston University, inLondon.His mother was an artist, and her influence led him toREAD ON

3 mins

Front Lines

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Air Mail

Crime, scandal, travel & the arts

Episodes84

Updated4 months ago

About

Episodes

Clara Molot

How Yale Got Spared

13 mins

Gracie Wiener

Laufey

5 mins

Elena Clavarino

Rage and Ravioli on Lake Garda

11 mins

Linda Wells

Whip My Hair

6 mins

Linda Wells

On the Nose with Christine Nagel

8 mins

Harrison Vail

Fancy Feast

4 mins

Jennifer Noyes

The Boats That Rocked

4 mins

Ashley Baker

<em>Too Much</em> Is Just Right

4 mins

Clara Molot

Charlotte Cardin

4 mins

Elena Clavarino

The Old Bronzes and the Sea

8 mins

Carolina de Armas

Megan Stalter

4 mins

Megan Stalter

Linda Wells

Life Saver

6 mins

Spike Carter

A Photo Finish

3 mins

Carolina de Armas

Bessie Carter

4 mins

Gracie Wiener

The Wicked Witches of Etsy

6 mins

Spike Carter

Beyond Repair

4 mins

Linda Wells

The Birkin Bag of Workouts

7 mins

The Birkin Bag of Workouts

Ashley Baker

The French Way

4 mins

Carolina de Armas

Conner Ives

6 mins

Jack Sullivan

Front Lines

3 mins

Front Lines