What would it be like if Sigmund Freud were alive in the age of podcasts? Would he have one? Well, his great-granddaughter the fashion designer Bella Freud does, and she’s going to stop by to tell us all about how it’s become a must-listen. Then, Jackie Kennedy Onassis was one of the most sought-after women in the world in her day. Not just by men who wanted to court her, but by one man in particular—a paparazzo named Ron Galella, who was obsessed with photographing her and would go to any length to do it. Karen M. Dunak has the revealing story of what happened when Jackie, eager to protect her privacy, took the photographer to court in 1972. And finally, everyone talks about “quiet luxury.” Well, our own Linda Wells shares her thoughts on why quiet restaurants are the true luxury these days.

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This week, Jeanne Malle reveals the winners and losers of Air Mail’s 2024 Over-Under List, wherein we present the year’s most overhyped (and underhyped) people and things. Then, on the subject of well-deserved hype, Alex Belth reports on a magazine from the 1970s called New Times. It’s long forgotten, unfortunately, but Alex tells us how this short-lived publication’s impact endures in today’s media landscape. And finally, lots of people claim they can reform education in America, most recently Donald Trump. William D. Cohan joins us from New York with the cautionary tale of Chris Whittle, the charter-school entrepreneur who went from being one of the most acclaimed operators in the education sphere to losing everything. Can he make a comeback?

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It’s the holidays, which means entertaining and cooking, so who better to chat with than one of our favorite people who knows a bit about both: Ruthie Rogers, the owner of one of the world’s great restaurants, the River Cafe in London. Then, as the new Bob Dylan biopic, starring Timothée Chalamet, comes to theaters this month, Ash Carter has the story of the studio that revolutionized graphic design and left a lasting visual mark on the culture, thanks in part to that now legendary illustration of Dylan with his hair rendered as psychedelic curls. And finally, Andrew Ryvkin reports on why countries around the world, from Georgia to South Korea, are playing Fascist whack-a-mole.

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No one made New Yorkers feel better than Bobby Short. For 36 years there was no more quintessential New York experience than seeing him perform at the Café Carlyle, and Scott Asen remembers the great man on the occasion of what would have been his 100th birthday. Then Elena Clavarino reports on another side of living in Manhattan: losing a place you love. For more than 20 years, En Japanese Brasserie has served amazing food and attracted a Who’s Who of New York’s arts scene, from Lou Reed to Yoko Ono to Q-Tip. Now, however, it is closing—and not by choice. Finally, Linda Wells joins us to reveal everything new in the world of beauty and wellness.

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A masterpiece of movies, On the Waterfront, came out 70 years ago, and this week the writer Stephen Rebello reveals how the classic film almost did not get made due to a feud between Marlon Brando and director Elia Kazan. Then John Beck reports on foreign diplomats who turn to bootlegging, drug dealing, and more in order to keep the lights on at their consulates. And on the subject of foreign affairs and cloak-and-dagger exploits, Aatish Taseer joins us from Tokyo with an incredible yarn. It's the story of how, in the 1990s, the Iranian government traded a painting by Willem de Kooning for a priceless copy of an illustrated manuscript—and how the secret buyer of the painting was David Geffen.

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This week, Legs McNeil reports on the murder of Melvin Combs—the man who was Sean “Diddy” Combs’s father. As Legs reports, “Pretty Boy Melvin,” who had links to the notorious drug kingpin Frank Lucas, was gunned down in 1972, possibly by New York City’s Gambino crime family for being a snitch. Then Jonathan Margolis reports on why Londoners may find themselves with a shortage of drinking water. And finally, we have a look at a bookshop in London that is a favorite haunt of espionage agents.

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This week, in lighter matters, John Lahr joins us from London to give us his take on the new stage version of Dr. Strangelove. Then Emilie Hawtin joins us from New York City to tell us about the fashion item that has been a favorite of the doyennes and uptown gents for the past 70 years but suddenly is being snapped up by Gen Z–ers and Hollywood actors.

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This week, Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley explain why this election is the final legacy of the baby-boomers—and why Trump is the most lasting and unpleasant legacy of this generation. Then Clara Molot joins us with her shocking report revealing how an employee at an elite boarding school allegedly downloaded photos from 70 under-age female students’ laptops. And finally, Piet Mondrian is seen as one of the supreme artists of the 20th century. Yet in many ways, he’s as elusive and walled off as his revolutionary paintings. But a new biography pulls back the curtain on the Dutch painter, and its author, Nicholas Fox Weber, will join us to share his insights.

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Lili Anolik looks at a question that’s always intrigued the literati—what exactly was the nature of the relationship between Joan Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne? Then our man in Paris, John von Sothen, reports on one poll that has been quite reliable at predicting the winner of the U.S. presidential election: it’s conducted at Harry’s Bar among expats. And finally, it was 25 years ago that anarchists stormed a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle to protest globalization. At the time, they were seen as left-wing extremists. Yet, as Michael Moynihan tells us, their radical cause has now become a rallying cry for the far right. How did it happen? Michael will explain.

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This week, Sam Kashner reveals what happened when a huge luxury yacht owned by Mike Lynch, Britain’s first Internet billionaire, sank in 15 minutes during a freak storm off the coast of Sicily, killing Lynch, his teenage daughter, and five others. Then George Pendle explains why politicians now out-scandalize rock stars. And finally, our own Ashley Baker looks at Noor Alfallah, a 30-year-old woman who has notched relationships with multiple boldface names over the age of 80, including Clint Eastwood, Mick Jagger, and Al Pacino (whose baby she recently had).

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When it was released just over 25 years ago, The Big Lebowski was a flop with critics. Now it is regarded as among the funniest movies ever made, one by which we all, well, abide. Josh Karp tells us how it came to be, the people who inspired it, and those who turned down roles in it. Can you imagine Mel Gibson playing the Dude? It almost happened. Then Melania Trump was in the news this week as her memoir entitled—what else?—Melania was released. Andy Borowitz has read it, and he tells us all about what’s in it. Finally, Katya V. joins us from Moscow with her report on how Putin is fighting one war in Ukraine but another one within Russia and against its citizens.

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