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The Infinite Monkey Cage


The Infinite Monkey Cage, on BBC Radio 4, engages our collective obsession with learning and acquiring new skills. Hosted by Brian Cox, the popular physicist and O.B.E. (who also serves as a professor of particle physics at the University of Manchester), and comedy writer Robin Ince, each 30-minute episode of the podcast, which launched in 2009, includes a panel of guests, such as scientists and comedians, and focuses on a specific topic: Is it possible to truly know reality? Can one ever be objective? It’s jammed with proper facts, well-researched ideas, and compelling notions that will make you laugh and think. (bbc.co.uk)

Eat

Corsica


Tom Aikens, chef and founder of Muse—a highly anticipated and recent addition to London’s Belgravia neighborhood—is the youngest Brit to win two Michelin awards, both for his eponymous and now shuttered restaurant in Chelsea. But when Aikens isn’t too busy with fine dining at home, he likes to eat well abroad. “One of my favorite destinations is Corsica,” he says. “I stay at the stunning hotel Domaine de Murtoli. It has two lovely restaurants: one by the barn, where they grow everything on-site in their huge garden, and the other, which is literally on the beach under a cool canopy of trees.” At the latter, he recommends the spider-crab linguine, and topping off your meal with “a swim in the beautiful cove.” (murtoli.com)

Ride

Helmet


Motorcycle helmets might just be the gateway drug to life on two wheels. One day, you’re just fine walking or taking the subway. Then you see someone wearing a Hedon helmet whizzing by you, and suddenly you’re all in for biking (self-propelled or motorized, your call). Based in London, Hedon makes a range of helmets that combine all the best noggin protection with a retro-updated style that looks great on everyone. The Hedonist Cactus model with a yellow visor is a favorite, but what’s best is that you can customize your selection. ($400, hedon.com)

Watch

The Windsors


Long before he abdicated to marry the woman he loved, Prince Edward was a hugely popular heir to the throne who hated his reactionary father and adored the press. Like his great-great-uncle, Prince Harry married an American divorcée and felt so stifled by his royal duties that he left the royal family. Unlike his great-great-uncle, Harry hates the press so much that he and his wife have fled to, of all places, Canada. The Windsors, a CNN documentary, looks at the British monarchy from the early 20th century to the dawn of the 21st from every facet—admirable, pathetic, enviable, despicable, laughable, and indispensable. It’s a fun romp (re-enactments!) that is fair-minded and respectful of history. For anyone who loves The Crown and wants to understand what the hell happened with Megxit, the final episode takes on Prince William and his trouble with Harry. (cnn.com)

Sweep

Cobweb Broom


An interest in fine home goods can have an escalating, all-encompassing effect. What begins as attention to something logical, like the softness of bed linen, morphs into an obsession with antique pill cases, Italian cuticle cream, and Japanese bath mats. Having covered those bases, one might fall into a deeper fixation with, say, midcentury vases. But the final frontier in domestic fastidiousness is artisan-crafted brooms. This long and slender model, made by hand in Kentucky by students at Berea College, whose Broom Making Studio has been active for more than 80 years, is intended for swatting away cobwebs from the corners of your house, adding some drama to an otherwise banal if icky pursuit. How romantic. In fact, it’s a perfect gift for the Little Edie in your life. ($38.50, salter.house)

Issue No. 32
February 22, 2020
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Issue No. 32
February 22, 2020