Books & Culture
- Video Dept.
The Personal Side of an East German Spy’s Defection
The short documentary “Betrayal” is full of espionage and intrigue, but, at its core, it is a story about those who get left behind.
- Dept. of Design
The Maximalism of Gigi Hadid’s and Drake’s Home Design
There’s a sensibility at play at the highest end of interior decorating right now, the fulfillment not of a designer’s vision but of a personal identity.
The Latest
When Pete Hamill Was the Editor of the New York Daily News
When the newsroom rumors began to circulate that Hamill was on thin ice, the staff put together a petition demanding that he remain. The publishers were unimpressed.
What to Stream: “The Well,” a Daring Drama About a Race Riot in a Small Town
The film, about a community’s response to the disappearance of a five-year-old Black girl, highlights American crises with dramatic audacity.
Review: Seth Rogen’s Empty Ethics in “An American Pickle”
The sentimental fantasy of generational conflict and an immigrant’s struggles, starring Rogen in a double role, strains to achieve a reconciliation with the recent cultural past.
Hear Me Out: Hot-Dog Salad
Hot dogs and hamburgers are so simple to cook and yet so strangely difficult to repurpose as leftovers.
The Ongoing Relevance of “Norma Rae”
Viewed today, the 1979 movie, starring Sally Field, is most striking in its suggestion that no struggle can take place alone.
The Critics
Rethinking the Science of Skin
What is all the scrubbing, soaping, moisturizing, and deodorizing really doing for the body’s largest organ?
Joseph McCarthy and the Force of Political Falsehoods
McCarthy never sent a single “subversive” to jail, but, decades later, the spirit of his conspiracy-mongering endures.
American Tragedy and Comedy, Streaming on YouTube
“The Line,” a play of communal horror, follows health-care workers battling COVID-19, and Hannibal Buress’s new special turns a police encounter into comedy and catharsis.
The Rallying Cry in Pop Smoke’s Posthumous Album
On “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon,” the charismatic New York rapper, who was killed in February, sounds like a young man exploring all his possibilities.
Goings On About Town
The Return of the Drive-In
With New York movie theatres closed, drive-ins, including the Warwick, upstate, and the Skyline, in Greenpoint, are thriving, offering familiar films and such new releases as “Relic” and “She Dies Tomorrow.”
The Picnic Baskets of the Pandemic
Bubby’s craggy fried chicken, Café Kitsuné’s frilly ham and Gruyère on baguettes, Otaku Katsu’s sando set, and more blanket-ready fare.
Eye-Catching Art for an Unprecedented Summer, in “Monuments Now”
The outdoor exhibition at Socrates Sculpture Park includes Jeffrey Gibson’s kaleidoscopic ziggurat “Because Once You Enter My House, It Becomes Our House,” performances by indigenous American artists, and more.
Photo Booth
Tyler Mitchell’s Redefining Portraits
Mitchell’s images introduce a dazzling new narrative about Black beauty and desire, embracing themes of the past and creating fictionalized moments of the imagined future.
Podcasts
The Power of Police Unions
William Finnegan on what the repeal of an arcane law reveals about the conflict among police, protesters, and politicians. Plus, an interview with the mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot.
Video
A Film Recounts the Imbalances of Obsession
In “The Song Is You,” the rarefied air of the art world serves as a backdrop for the complicated relationship between a would-be stalker and the couple she is following.