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Snap

The Leica Q2


The Leica Q2 is a camera lover’s camera. It’s obsessively engineered and assembled by hand, with a rock-solid, weatherproof body that will capture beautiful images in whatever conditions you find yourself in. It’s also a delight to use. In an era where cameras come crammed with dials and buttons, the Q2 keeps only the essentials. This isn’t the camera that requires fiddling with settings. The 28-mm. lens is permanently attached to the body, which can be a deal-breaker for some pros, but here it’s a liberation. Just set up your auto ISO, adjust the aperture, and shoot. The image quality is superb. And it travels well: a mobile app and Bluetooth connection let you share photos from your phone. ($5,000, leica.com) —Michael Hainey

Nazi official Otto von Wächter.
Listen

The Ratline


Anyone who wonders how so many Nazis managed to evade justice after World War II must tune in to The Ratline, a riveting BBC Radio 4 podcast. Human-rights lawyer Philippe Sands explains the mysterious escape of Otto von Wächter, a high-ranking SS officer who helped exterminate thousands of Polish Jews. Sands’s 10 episodes weave together Wächter-family secrets with tantalizing details of Vatican complicity and the Cold War expediencies of the C.I.A. (Listen on Apple.) —Alessandra Stanley

Drink

Vins Chez Nous


One of the few silver linings of the coronavirus outbreak is that housebound gourmands are being reminded of the joys of home cooking—and, more importantly, of drinking. During these difficult times, the top-shelf natural-wine retailer Vins Chez Nous is still fulfilling orders (in a careful and hygienic way, bien sûr). As they put it, “[We’re] aware that a bit of wine will help to keep the morale up and get through the next few weeks.” Natural wine is made by small producers from organic and biodynamic grapes, so it’s closer to what we would have been drinking hundreds of years ago. Vins Chez Nous still has dozens of Olivier Lemasson’s terrific R19 in stock—after a glass or two, social distancing may not seem so bad. ($14, vincheznous.com)

Eat

Anges du Sucre


Not all cakes are created equal. Londoner Reshmi Bennett was trained in classical French cuisine in Paris at the École Grégoire-Ferrandi—one of the country’s leading culinary schools—before working under a string of Parisian, Michelin-starred chefs. Bennett moved back to London in 2011 and started Anges de Sucre, making and delivering exquisite hand-decorated cakes. The definition of decadence, her version of a traditional croquembouche—a French dessert consisting of choux-pastry puffs piled into a cone and covered in caramel threads—is made from chocolate and vanilla sponge cake and studded with doughnuts, eclairs, macarons, and more. It reaches more than three feet in height and takes at least two days to make. (angesdesucre.com) —Bridget Arsenault

Ride

Classic Sport 26


The Classic Sport 26 from the Japanese bike manufacturer Tokyobike is a no-nonsense city cruiser, ideal for commuters. With a lightweight steel frame and 26-inch wheels, this limber bike easily glides through congested streets. Suits in town cars will do a double take as you whiz by. Trim yet sturdy, the Classic Sport 26 is as easy on the eyes as it is easy to ride. Of the eight colors offered, we recommend the moss green for those who like an outdoorsy look, and the matte blue-gray for the true urbanite. ($825, tokyobike.us) —Alex Oliviera

Watch

The Spy


The news that the C.I.A. had to extract a high-level Russian mole inside Putin’s Kremlin was a reminder of how much human intelligence still matters. So is The Spy, a six-part series on Netflix based on Eli Cohen, an Israeli double agent who went undercover in Syria in the 1960s. Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) plays Cohen as an ambitious, talented spy who is torn up by homesickness. He is also unrecognizable and utterly persuasive. (netflix.com) —Alessandra Stanley

Issue No. 51
July 4, 2020
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Issue No. 51
July 4, 2020