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Issue No. 149

The View from Here Back home in Russia, Vladimir Putin is facing the first serious challenge to his leadership, but it’s not coming from the direction you’d expect

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Another Day, Another $700 Million Betting big on oil futures, a group of twentysomething traders working from home made two-thirds of a billion dollars in a single day. Authorities are asking questions

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Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook

Handbags at Dawn! Chipolata-penis shaming, fake tans, and a four-letter word that starts with c! It’s the legal Circus Maximus as two British soccer wives go to High Court

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The Kratom Kick It’s an upper. It’s a downer. It’s legal in most of the U.S. And everyone’s taking it

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Divine Intervention Noma’s all-too-brief appearance in New York gave at least one diner a religious experience—and a new appreciation of ants

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*As dictated to Godfrey Daniel, Senior Russian Scholar at the University of Mastic—on Long Island!
Best
Set Free: Lawrencia Bembenek released on $10,000 ball. 1991= Listen Run, Bambi, Run In 1980, the men of the Milwaukee Police Department liked to party—both on and off duty. As the boys in blue were drinking… Re-Discover The Coca-Cola Kid In 1985, when Yugoslavian art-house rabble-rouser Dušan Makavejev (W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism) released The Coca-Cola Kid, critics were… Wear Self-Portrait In 2018, when Meghan Markle arrived in Tonga during her first official royal tour, she wore a long-sleeved red dress with its return tag flapping… Dine Oiji Mi It’s been 48 hours, and I am still craving chili lobster ramyun. The problem is, there’s no way us mortals can even attempt… Sparkle Givenchy At Givenchy’s spring ’22 show, jewelry was A Thing. Inspired by wire, the collection’s necklaces, earrings, and bracelets were full of intricate… Shop Green Fingers Market From the street, Green Fingers Market just looks like a plant store. They do sell plants—hundreds of them, from cacti in hand-painted pots… Set Free: Lawrencia Bembenek released on $10,000 ball. 1991= Listen Run, Bambi, Run In 1980, the men of the Milwaukee Police Department liked to party—both on and off duty. As the boys in blue were drinking… Re-Discover The Coca-Cola Kid In 1985, when Yugoslavian art-house rabble-rouser Dušan Makavejev (W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism) released The Coca-Cola Kid, critics were… Wear Self-Portrait In 2018, when Meghan Markle arrived in Tonga during her first official royal tour, she wore a long-sleeved red dress with its return tag flapping… Dine Oiji Mi It’s been 48 hours, and I am still craving chili lobster ramyun. The problem is, there’s no way us mortals can even attempt… Sparkle Givenchy At Givenchy’s spring ’22 show, jewelry was A Thing. Inspired by wire, the collection’s necklaces, earrings, and bracelets were full of intricate… Shop Green Fingers Market From the street, Green Fingers Market just looks like a plant store. They do sell plants—hundreds of them, from cacti in hand-painted pots…
Air Supply

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Guest Edit

My Favorite Things After attracting great attention in the aughts as a street-style pioneer, Taylor Tomasi Hill assumed the creative helm at brands Moda Operandi, Forty Five Ten, and, most recently, cutting-edge shopping platform THE YES. Herewith, she reveals her leading recommendations

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Small Talk
“If I give you a look, introduce yourself. I can’t remember their names.”

Landing Gear Uncanny facial-recognition A.I. for plants; a godsent gadget to aid sore muscles; iPad Air’s fifth, heart-melting generation; and more

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A Weekend at Marchmont On a recent spring day in the Scottish countryside, the newly restored estate of Rory McEwen hosted a tribute to the late, great British artist and folk singer

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Every Aristo-Dog Has Its Day Posh, eccentric Brits have always loved their dogs, and with the arrival of Goodwoof on the social calendar, they finally have a new dedicated event

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Small Talk

Save the Last Dance for Me A three-day rave with scores of half-naked Russians in a dusty and deserted corner of Uzbekistan—what’s not to like? Toxic sandstorms, for starters

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Trump Admits He Is Depressing And other strange news about these curious days …

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Don’t Miss

In 2021, Tom Skinner, Jonny Greenwood, and Thom Yorke formed the Smile.

The Smile Opens Wide

The Smile is not Radiohead, but you could be forgiven if you thought otherwise. Singer Thom Yorke and guitarist-arranger Jonny Greenwood are the essential sound of Radiohead. Yorke and Greenwood collaborated during lockdown, and what started as a splinter project has taken on a life of its own. Their new album, A Light for Attracting Attention, dropped May 13, and having added the drummer Tom Skinner, this trio sounds fully formed. That light may be attracting attention, but be careful. It leads to much numinous darkness, a sonic chiaroscuro. READ ON


Lucy Boynton The Bohemian Rhapsody and Politician actress plays a Cold War–era spy in her latest role

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A Welcome Russian Invasion The director and Putin critic Kirill Serebrennikov spent the last few years in detainment. Now he’s back at Cannes with a new film—and a lot more to say about his homeland

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Small Talk
“You know how it is. Some days you like to drive; some days you like to be driven.”

From Slush Pile to Pulitzer Joshua Cohen couldn’t find a publisher for his novel about Harold Bloom and the Netanyahus. Now it’s a heralded prizewinner

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Gen Z’s Hot New Drug This week on the podcast, a closer look at kratom. Plus, would you pay $700 to eat some ants?

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Air Mail Jr.
Photography

A Study in Scarlet Joel Meyerowitz’s study of the many shades and styles of red hair is an ode to the world’s natural redheads

Small Talk
Book Reviews

Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington

by James Kirchick
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My Place in the Sun: Life in the Golden Age of Hollywood and Washington

by George Stevens Jr.
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The Right Kind of Ghosts A terrific 70s vibe is only part of the many charms of Goblin Hill, in Jamaica

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“Blame it or praise it, there is no denying the wild horse in us.” —Virginia Woolf
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In Memoriam

Richard David Story Peter Bogdanovich André Leon Talley

Issue No. 149
May 21, 2022
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Issue No. 149
May 21, 2022

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