A few years ago, the translator Jeremy Tiang was browsing in a bookstore in Singapore when he came across an unusual book of stories. Written in Chinese under a pen name, the book, “Delicious Hunger,” drew on the author Hai Fan’s 13 years fighting in the jungles of Malaysia and southern Thailand as a guerrilla … Read more
Dear listeners, Every once in a while, I like to compile a playlist composed entirely of songs with identical titles. You may recall that, last October, I sent out a newsletter about six different tracks vying to be the greatest “The Greatest.” Today, in honor of a certain loved-and-occasionally-loathed holiday, I made a playlist of … Read more
Lucy Dacus, ‘Best Guess’ Lucy Dacus recognizes that love can be precarious in “Best Guess.” She sings, “I love your body, I love your mind/They will change, so will mine.” The tempo is measured and the band supplies a subdued folk-rock march as Dacus overcomes self-conscious skepticism to commit: “You may not be an angel, … Read more
Season 3, Episode 1: ‘It Girl’ Welcome back to the wilderness, darlings. “Yellowjackets” is back and we’re — wait, what is this? Are we having fun? Can that be possible in a show that ended its last season with multiple devastating deaths? With an adolescent’s heart being eaten? If Season 2 got bogged down in … Read more
Walter Robinson, Exuberant Art-World Participant and Observer, Dies at 74
Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for Ambrose and Kessell to have their breakout moments. Episode 2 doesn’t really offer that up for Ambrose, though she does have the chance to sing Jamiroquai karaoke. The episode does allow Kessell the opportunity to show new sides of Lottie, though, who is still a bit cuckoo but also serene … Read more
Ken Wydro, a playwright, director and producer who with his wife, Vy Higginsen, poured their life savings into the Off Broadway gospel musical “Mama, I Want to Sing,” an enduring work of Black theater that ran for more than 2,800 performances, died on Jan. 21 at his home in Harlem. He was 81. The cause … Read more
The anonymous woman who accused Jay-Z and Sean Combs of raping her when she was 13 years old dropped her lawsuit on Friday against the hip-hop moguls. Jay-Z’s lawyers had pointed to what they described as “glaring inconsistencies” in the woman’s account, citing information that came to light in an NBC report that called details … Read more
My husband and I are avid urban travelers, and that didn’t change when we had children. We still enjoy encountering a city’s delights, though now we rely more advance planning, patience and ice cream breaks. My family has learned to select cities with direct flight access, walkable downtowns and neighborhoods full of parks and playgrounds. … Read more
In the days after Donald J. Trump was declared the winner of last year’s presidential election, Allison Reese began having some strange interactions with strangers. “People at my coffee shop were looking at me and approaching me as if I had died, which is kind of funny to me,” said Reese, 32, a comedian who … Read more