September 30, 2023
The Best
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from
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No. 220
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In This Week’s Issue
NADINE (IS IT YOU?)

Introducing the second Mrs. Bob Menendez, the gold-loving, Chanel-wearing, Beirut-born bombshell the senator met in a New Jersey IHOP …

MEN’S SEX AND THE CITY

Why is it that boyfriends and husbands think many times a day about the Roman Empire? Flora Gill looks at the rise and fall of the male mind …

TO LASH A THIEF

Rédoine Faïd, the bank robber and jewel thief who daringly escaped from prison twice, is now on trial in Paris. But he is still a flight risk …

THE LOVE GUV

Democrats are crazy about Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer. Peter Osnos asks whether her popularity can sweep her into the Oval Office …

THE WILD SIDE

Nathan King takes a walk through a new biography of Lou Reed, the streetwise bard who led the way for David Bowie, Patti Smith, Debbie Harry, and Talking Heads …

PARTY ON

Linda Wells, the Editor of AIR MAIL LOOK, draws the 20 best women in London—including Sabrina Guinness, Nancy Cadogan, and Ruthie Rogers—to a glamorous, man-free dinner at Claridge’s …

BELOW THE BELTWAY

Who is swampier? The Clarence Thomas vs. Bob Menendez championship match …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

A newly recovered, previously lost short story by Truman Capote … Shanti Fiennes (yes, that family) as Princess Diana … the memoir of newspaperman Marty Baron … an atlas of the world’s most beautiful cars … the Comedy Cellar isn’t canceled … our mystery roundup … And don’t forget to vote for the Attention Whore of the week! …

But First …
Issue No. 220

The View from Here What’s ahead for Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer?

By Peter Osnos
Read On
Barry Blitt’s Sketchbook
Here Comes the Bribe

Golden Girl As extraordinary corruption allegations whirl around Senator Robert Menendez, his wife, Nadine, has been revealed as the so-called brains of the operation

By George Kalogerakis
With Jack Sullivan
Read On
The Art of the Steal

Taking the Heat After countless bank robberies, two prison escapes, and several heists inspired by Michael Mann movies, the notorious French gangster Rédoine Faïd is back on trial

By Scott Johnson
Read On
Small Talk

Rope-a-Dope Who is the champion in Washington’s swampy sleaze-and-corruption arena?

By John Ficarra
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CHOP CHOPPISH SHOP
Read On
AIR SUPPLY

Postcard from the Cotswolds

Pack your bags: this week, AIR SUPPLY is taking a trip to the Cotswolds, with cozy home décor and finely crafted British wardrobe essentials, from leather-lined Wellies to the consummate flannel jacket
Shop
Photo: Moviestore/Shutterstock (Redgrave and Hicks)
guest edit

My Favorite Things Known for her casually elegant jewelry, the Parisian jeweler Aurélie Bidermann reveals her essentials of choice, from refined office supplies to the perfect weekend bag

By Aurélie Bidermann
Shop
Photo: Jacques Burga (Bidermann)
Beauty and Wellness

Eye of the Beholder Model, agent, and activist Bethann Hardison has had an indelible effect on the beauty and fashion industries. On the release of a new documentary, she sets the record straight with our beauty-and-wellness columnist

By Linda Wells
Read On
T.G.I.S.

The Attention-Whore Index Corrupt politicians face off against British royalty and Hollywood stars for your attention this week

Read On
Modern Times

Do All Roads Really Lead to Rome? A female writer with no interest whatsoever in the Roman Empire takes stock of the viral social-media trend—and women’s response to it

By Flora Gill
9
Marlon Brando as Marc Antony in Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1953 film, Julius Caesar. Have grapes ever been riper?
Kirk Douglas as the titular Spartacus in the 1960 film directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Hiram Keller as Ascilto and Capucine as Trifena in Federico Fellini’s 1969 film, Satyricon.
Phil Silvers as Marcus Lycus in Richard Lester’s 1966 film adaptation of the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Keller in Satyricon.
Zero Mostel in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.
Brando in Julius Caesar.
Charlton Heston as Mark Antony in Stuart Burge’s 1970 film, Julius Caesar.
Martin Potter, center, in Satyricon.
Read On
Best
Carry Akris A fall shoulder bag that’s neither a tote nor a shrunken duffel? Groundbreaking. But such is the latest proposition from Akris, whose… Sip Moon Juice Is it really even a visit to Los Angeles if one doesn’t procure a $12 shake and an armful of supplements at Moon Juice? I’ve relied on its… Read Cynthia Carlson: Sixty Years Few midcentury artists have had as profound an impact on contemporary aesthetics as Cynthia Carlson,… Read What If One Day … Bruce Handy wrote Wild Things, a sprawling exploration of children’s literature, because “picture books don’t get the recognition they… Listen Radiooooo Spotify is a great tool, but it’s missing some essential music. That’s why there is Radiooooo, a fun, interactive, online tool that lets you… Wear Alaïa True story: I once went into a famed New York department store looking for a basic black belt and was advised (by one of its salespeople!) to go to… Carry Akris A fall shoulder bag that’s neither a tote nor a shrunken duffel? Groundbreaking. But such is the latest proposition from Akris, whose… Sip Moon Juice Is it really even a visit to Los Angeles if one doesn’t procure a $12 shake and an armful of supplements at Moon Juice? I’ve relied on its… Read Cynthia Carlson: Sixty Years Few midcentury artists have had as profound an impact on contemporary aesthetics as Cynthia Carlson,… Read What If One Day … Bruce Handy wrote Wild Things, a sprawling exploration of children’s literature, because “picture books don’t get the recognition they… Listen Radiooooo Spotify is a great tool, but it’s missing some essential music. That’s why there is Radiooooo, a fun, interactive, online tool that lets you… Wear Alaïa True story: I once went into a famed New York department store looking for a basic black belt and was advised (by one of its salespeople!) to go to…
The Truman Show

A Piece of Paradise A lost short story handwritten by the acclaimed author Truman Capote is published for the first time

By Will Pavia
Read On
Midcentury Marvels

Tougher than Leather At Lost Worlds, in Queens, the hidebound Stuart Clurman is making leather jackets to bygone specifications. And his throwback customers—rockers and actors among them—love him for it

By Michael Hainey
Read On
Film Classics

An Elegy Wrapped in a Comedy A new book chronicles the rise of Bruce Robinson’s Withnail & I from box-office failure to endlessly quotable classic

By Dorian Lynskey
Read On
After Hours

A Night Celebrating Linda Wells Valentino and AIR MAIL hosted a glamour-rich party at Claridge’s in honor of the Editor of AIR MAIL LOOK

7
Claridge’s set the scene for a lively dinner for AIR MAIL’s Linda Wells.
Top, Elizabeth Callender and Rachel Johnson; above, Nancy Cadogan and Matilda Goad.
Top left, Skye McAlpine; top right, Ashley Baker; above, Rachel Johnson, Emily FitzRoy, and Anjali Lewis.
Top, Sabrina Guinness; above left, Eliane Fattal; above right, Isabelle Harvie-Watt.
Top, Hannah Betts; above, Tricia Brock and Fiona McCarthy.
Top, Skye McAlpine, Linda Wells, and Sabrina Guinness; above, Lucinda Sanford and Ruthie Rogers.
Top, Rachel Johnson and Lucinda Sanford; above, Jessica Fellowes.
Read On
Small Talk
“Your ears seek wisdom, but your lips seek Himalayan lip balm.”
“Your ears seek wisdom, but your lips seek Himalayan lip balm.”
Listen

Is This the Woman Who Could (Should?) Replace Biden? On this week’s podcast, Peter Osnos discusses why a 52-year-old from Michigan just might have what it takes

Read On
Little Britain

Love in a Cold-War Climate

On Hampstead Heath, London’s gay community rubs shoulders with Russian spies
By Charlie Baker
Illustrations by Paul Cox
Read On
Arts and Culture

Funny Is His Business Noam Dworman, owner of the Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village, has worked with all the greats—including a few you haven’t heard of yet

By Anna Jube
Read On
Small Talk
Book Reviews
Nathan King On

Lou Reed: The King of New York

by Will Hermes
Read On
Tom Scocca On

Collision of Power: Trump, Bezos, and The Washington Post

by Martin Baron
Read On

Murder, They Wrote

by Lisa Henricksson
Read On
Film and Television

Lost and Found Ahead of his West End role in A Voyage Round My Father, Rupert Everett reflects on losing focus, renouncing Botox, and the value of self-censorship

By Kevin Maher
Read On
Open Book

Heaven on Wheels A new book offers a dazzling survey of the most exceptional cars ever designed, from a Corvette Sting Ray to an Aston Martin Valkyrie, to a BMW Isetta micro-car

9
A red Saab 92, the first production car from the Swedish manufacturer. It was on the market from 1949 to 1955.
Top, an Aston Martin Valkyrie, a limited-production hybrid sports car introduced in 2017; above, a Wikov 35 “Kapka,” the first Czech streamlined car, from 1931.
An Italian-designed BMW Isetta micro-car in Germany, produced from 1955 to 1962.
Top, a Cisitalia 202, one of the most memorable cars manufactured by the Turin industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio’s company, produced from 1947 to 1952; above, an early 1970s Buick Riviera, which marked General Motors’ entry into the personal-luxury-car market segment.
The second generation of the Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, produced by General Motors from 1963 to 1967.
Top, an Alfa Romeo 8C Berlinetta from 1937; above, a Duesenberg Model J, intended to compete with the most luxurious and powerful cars in the world when it was introduced, in 1928, a year before the stock-market crash that led to the Great Depression. (Duesenberg Automobile & Motors Company went bankrupt in 1937.)
A tower of Volvo 140s in Sweden. More than a million of these cars were built between 1966 and 1974.
A DMC DeLorean, a rear-engine, two-passenger sports car and the only car brought to market by the fledgling DeLorean Motor Company, produced from 1981 to 1983.
Top, a four-door Volvo 140 in Sweden; above, a Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, circa 1959–61.
Read On
Highlight

Searching the Webb A new book about the jeweler David Webb reveals the inspirations behind the master’s modern designs

By Ruth Peltason
Read On
Small Talk
“On the plus side, it’s nice to be doing something together.”
“On the plus side, it’s nice to be doing something together.”
The Hotel World

Who Goes There? After a $1.7 billion renovation, Raffles London, at the Old War Office, opened to great fanfare. Too much, perhaps

By Ashley Baker
Read On
Days of Wine and Rosés

Rosé-Colored Glasses At the Rochambeau Club, it’s always five o’clock, and Labor Day has been postponed indefinitely

By George Pendle
Read On
Highlight

No Exit A great female auteur makes a bold humanist statement in Green Border

By Michael Sragow
Read On
Small Talk
“Private equity bought the dam and jacked up rents. Nests are next.”
“Private equity bought the dam and jacked up rents. Nests are next.”
Close-up

Shanti Fiennes The British actress is taking on the role of Princess Diana in a film that imagines post-divorce Di on a carefree road trip through California

By Bridget Arsenault
Read On
View With a Room

The Wildest West For decades, the Resort at Paws Up was the most exclusive ranch hotel in the country. Now it has some competition from its sister property, the Green O

By Laura Neilson
Read On
The Seasoned Traveler

Diplo The D.J., music producer, and frequent flier details his travel routine

Read On
Ruby Wright’s Sketchbook
Sitting in the barbershop in London Bridge while my son has his back-to-school haircut, I marvel at the barbers’ silent artistry. This hushed, all-male space is such a contrast to the garrulous salon where I have just been for my own back-to-work hairdo.
Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editor

Elena Clavarino

Junior Editor

Jensen Davis

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Lucy Horowitz Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson Walter Isaacson
Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson John Lahr
Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall Daphne Merkin

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Pip Johnson Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Audience Growth Manager

Merritt Johnson

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Intern

Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-commerce Associate

Lilly Schoenbaum

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

Issue No. 220
September 30, 2023
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Issue No. 220
September 30, 2023
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