CATEGORIES
A KILLER VIEW
When an heiress to the L.L. Bean fortune noticed that a grove of majestic oaks on her coastal Maine property had died, she cast her suspicions on her neighbors uphill, summer residents who wanted a better view of Camden Harbor. The legal fight that ensued became a town drama that roils to this day
THE SQUATTER OF POINT DUME
SURE, LET A NEIGHBOR USE THE GUEST ROOM FOR A FEW NIGHTS. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? A LOT, AS A SERIES OF UNSUSPECTING RESIDENTS LEARNED AFTER ONE WOMAN ALLEGEDLY EXPLOITED CALIFORNIA'S TENANCY LAWS TO TURN CASUAL STAYS INTO PROTRACTED EVICTION WARS IN AN EXCLUSIVE MALIBU ENCLAVE
Red Hot
There's no one in Hollywood-or anywhere else, probably-like NATASHA LYONNE. Her wry, wrenching work in Poker Face, His Three Daughters, and Russian Doll has brought an indie favorite into the spotlight
L.A. POSTCARD - GHOST TOWN
On most weekday afternoons, U.S. Route 101, which slices through the city of Los Angeles, thrums with traffic, brake lights blinking like those on a Christmas tree. Several days ago, as wildfires ravaged the city and the surrounding county, a haze of smoke filtered the sun like a silk scarf over a lamp. It was eerily smooth sailing from Silver Lake to Exit 9B, Hollywood and Highland, near Runyon Canyon Park.
INTIMATE PROJECTS DEPT. THE GOLDFISH BOWL
There are roughly eight hundred galleries that hold the permanent collection of the Met, and as of a recent Tuesday morning the married writers Dan and Becky Okrent had examined every piece in all but two.
THE CROSSWORD
A beginner-friendly puzzle
THE CURRENT CINEMA - GHOST'S-EYE VIEW
“Presence.”
A CRITIC AT LARGE - CHECK THIS OUT
If you think apps and social media are ruining our ability to concentrate, you haven't been paying attention.
WHEELS UP
Can the U.K.’s Foreign Secretary negotiate a course between the E.U. and President Trump?
ANNALS OF INQUIRY: CHASING A DREAM
What insomniacs know.
THE ST. ALWYNN GIRLS AT SEA SHEILA HETI
There was a general sadness that day on the ship. Dani was walking listlessly from cabin to cabin, delivering little paper flyers announcing the talent show at the end of the month. She had made them the previous week; then had come news that the boys' ship would not be attending. It almost wasn't worth handing out flyers at all—almost as if the show had been cancelled. The boys' ship had changed course; it was now going to be near Gibraltar on the night of the performance—nowhere near where their ship would be, in the middle of the North Atlantic sea. Every girl in school had already heard Dani sing and knew that her voice was strong and good. The important thing was for Sebastien to know. Now Sebastien would never know, and it might be months before she would see him again—if she ever would see him again. All she had to look forward to now were his letters, and they were only delivered once a week, and no matter how closely Dani examined them, she could never have perfect confidence that he loved her, because of all his mentions of a girlfriend back home.
AFTER THE FIRE: PAPER AND ASH
\"The first thing you think of when you see your home engulfed in flames is, My world and future have changed,\" Robert J. Lang, one of the world's foremost origami artists and theorists, said recently.
LAUGH DEPT.PRECOCIOUS
In \"The Great Depresh,\" Gary Gulman's documentary-style comedy special about his lifelong struggle with depression, a camera crew follows him to his childhood home in Peabody, Massachusetts.
PARTY FAVORS
Perle Mesta and the golden age of the Washington hostess.
THE MASTER BUILDER
Norman Foster's empire of image control.
ON AND OFF THE AVENUE - Top of the Class
Whenever I consider “taking a class,” as a grown woman living in New York City, my mind immediately turns to “The Ladies Who Lunch,” the show-stopping number from Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 musical, “Company.”
THE TALK OF THE TOWN
The conflagration that became known that became known as the Bel Air Fire broke out on the morning of November 6, 1961, in a patch of brush north of Mulholland Drive. Fanned by Santa Ana winds, the flames jumped the drive, then spread toward the homes of the rich and famous.
CHARLOTTE'S PLACE
Living with the ghost of a cinéma-vérité pioneer.
MILLENNIALS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Fame is fickle, and no one knows this better than millennials. Once, they were everywhere—in television laugh tracks for “The Big Bang Theory,” in breathless think pieces about social-media narcissism, and acting the fool in 360p YouTube comedy videos. Then—poof! Gone like yesterday’s avocado toast.
WELCOME TO OUR FIRST/FINAL BOOK CLUB!
Thank you, everyone, for coming to our first/final book-club meeting. Apologies for how long it's taken us to settle on a date, but in between work, kids, and the pretense of joining adult recreational sports leagues, it seems that we all have incredibly busy schedules.
ODD JOBS
\"Severance,\" on Apple TV+.
TABULA RASA
“Bleb” is worth eight points in Scrabble. Thought you might like to know. I have known the word since Wednesday, June 11, 1958, when I learned it from a company physician at Time Incorporated, in Rockefeller Center. He said I should have been hospitalized four days ago, but there was nothing much to do about it now, go back to work.
FEAR AND LOATHING
Are all our arguments really over who's harmed?
ZORA NEALE HURSTON'S CHOSEN PEOPLE
What a long-unpublished novel reveals about her magnificent obsession.
MING HAN ONG
Thadeus had never offered to take Johnny Mac out for a meal before. This is new, Johnny Mac says, grinning. For twenty-five years, Johnny Mac worked as a tenant-rights lawyer. He is a fount of varied and surprising knowledge.
THE POISON MACHINE
The talk-show host Yinon Magal's hard-line tactics.
MAKE HIM LAUGH
How Lorne Michaels's sensibility governs \"Saturday Night Live.\"
ON A MISSION FROM GOD
Inside the movement to redirect billions of taxpayer dollars to private religious schools.
OUR NEW TWO-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION SYSTEM
Our two-factor authentication system is expanding because text messages and e-mailed codes are becoming less secure. Also, we’re committed to making sure your log-in process is more of a hassle than it needs to be.
STILL PROCESSING
Why is the American diet so deadly?