Blake Lively vs. Justin Baldoni—it’s the battle that has captivated Hollywood. But just what the hell’s going on and who is to be believed? Stuart Heritage gives us his insights. Then Carrie Monahan, who worked as a fact-checker at Facebook, has some thoughts about Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to kill off fact-checking at Meta. And finally, you may have missed some news on the street—Sesame Street, to be exact. The long-running series finds itself looking for a new home on television. Warner Bros. Discovery has opted not to renew its deal with the beloved children’s show, and David Kamp joins with a look at just where Bert, Ernie, and Elmo might end up.

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It’s the beginning of a new year and a time of resolutions, and if you are thinking of taking time to reflect on what you want to do in 2025, Pico Iyer joins us from Tokyo to share what he learned during his time at a secluded monastery perched high above the Pacific. Then, if seclusion is less your thing and indulgence is where you live, Rob LeDonne joins us from Williamsburg, the New York neighborhood where almost everything has changed, except for Bamonte’s, the beloved 125-year-old Italian restaurant that is hotter than ever. And finally, Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms is one of the literary masterpieces of the past 100 years, and Amanda Vaill will share the story of unrequited love that inspired Hemingway to write his novel.

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This week, the man behind our infamous Attention-Whore Index, George Kalogerakis, takes us inside the year-end awards for the biggest winners—or, really, losers—of 2024. Then, it’s been 40 years since the television show Miami Vice debuted, and Josh Karp is going to tell us how a show about two cops in the modern-day Casablanca transformed television and set the mold for The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, and more. And finally, Joseph Rodota has his report on Dr. Mary Calderone. In the 1970s, this woman, in her 60s at the time, helped lead American schools to teach sex education. Now the issues Calderone campaigned for are under fire again—this time from the far right. Joe’s going to tell us all about this fascinating woman.

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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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