The three-part documentary “The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke,” on Hulu, follows the chilling case of the popular mommy vlogger who eventually pleaded guilty to child abuse for the horrific torture of her children. The case has already been international news, tabloid fodder and discourse grist, but unlike a lot of … Read more
John Feinstein, an indefatigable sportswriter for The Washington Post and the author of more than 40 books, including the best sellers “A Season on the Brink” (1986) and “A Good Walk Spoiled” (1995), died on Thursday at his brother’s home in McLean, Va. He was 69. His brother, Robert, said the cause was probably a … Read more
Dawn Robinson, a founding member of the ’90s R&B group En Vogue, said this week that she had been living in her car for roughly three years after several living arrangements fell through. In a nearly 20-minute video that was posted to her official YouTube channel on Tuesday, Robinson said that she did not want … Read more
In the middle of Beethoven’s “Diabelli Variations,” from 1823, the pianist’s left hand starts rocking up and down the keyboard in a pattern that sounds uncannily like boogie-woogie from the 1930s and ’40s. For a choreographer courageous enough to tackle that score, this is low-hanging fruit. It’s easy to be witty by having the dancers … Read more
David Raven, who was better known as Maisie Trollette and was believed to be the oldest drag performer in Britain, died on Wednesday in Brighton, England. He was 91. His death was confirmed by a friend, Scott St. Martyn, who said that Mr. Raven had been living in a nursing home. Mr. Raven performed as … Read more
Sofia Gubaidulina, a Tatar-Russian composer who defied Soviet dogma with her openly religious music and after decades of suppression moved to the West, where she was feted by major orchestras, died on Thursday at her home in Appen, Germany. She was 93. Carol Ann Cheung, of Boosey & Hawkes, Ms. Gubaidulina’s American publisher, said the … Read more
Jennifer Johnston, an admired Irish novelist whose precise, carefully woven fictions depicted historic fault lines in her country’s upper crust and frailties in its latter-day middle class, died on Feb. 25 in Dun Laoghaire, outside Dublin. She was 95. Her death, in a nursing home, was announced by President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland, who … Read more
We recommend a bounty of good fiction this week, with a collection by Torrey Peters, a mystery by Deanna Raybourn and new novels from Chaim Grade, Karen Russell and others. In nonfiction, we like a journalist’s look back at a little-remembered episode of police brutality from the 1980s and a damning, juicy tell-all by a … Read more
The Madison Square Park Conservancy in New York has selected Denise Markonish as its next chief curator, the organization announced Thursday. Currently the chief curator at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Mass., Markonish will begin her new job stewarding the art program for the 6.2-acre park, which is used by 60,000 people daily, in June. … Read more
As a teenager, I had a recurring dream of visiting my grandmother, only to find her gone, and everything — her street, her rowhouse — looking just a little bit off. Confused, I would sit down on her front step and think, “This is just a dream. I’ll sit here until I wake up.” That … Read more