SKIN IN THE GAME

Inside the frenzied business of designer ball pythons.

EXCERPTS FROM A POSTING FOR MY IDEAL JOB

You are an experienced writer who lives and breathes finding excuses to avoid writing.

IN THE WEEDS

The struggle to sell legal marijuana in New York.

The Oligarch's Son

Following a mysterious plunge into the Thames, two grieving parents reckon with the anatomy of a fall.

A Reporter at Large – Democracy in Darkness

What Ukraine has already lost in its fight against Russia.

REALMS OF THE SENSES

“The Taste of Things” and Ennio.”

LUSH LIFE

“Days of Wine and Roses” and The Animal Kingdom.”

THE RETICENT RADICAL

Baruch Spinoza's quiet revolution.

WHAT GOES AROUND

The stories we tell about female violence.

THE ART OF CHANGE

Thelma Goldens role in desegregating the art world.

MY WAITING LIST

I am happy to announce that I have opened a new waiting list, for people who have been trying to get on my regular waiting list. When and if there are openings on the regular list, those on the new list will be eligible to move into one of the open slots, after paying a transfer fee.

THE FRIENDSHIP CHALLENGE

How envy destroyed the perfect connection between two teen-age girls.

THE SPORTING SCENE: NO JOKE

Somehow, Nikola Joki¢ has become the world’s best basketball player.

EVERY TEN-BEST LIST

SHOUTS & MURMURS

Personal History – A New Life

Becoming a parent, ending a marriage.

NOT LONG FOR THIS WORLD

The heroine of \"Tótem,\" a new film from the Mexican director Lila Avilés, is a girl by the name of Solecito (Naíma Sentíes), or Sol for short. We are never told her age: seven or eight, perhaps, though she's one of those naturally grave children who seem a little older and wiser than they ought-or would choose to be.

ACID REFLUX

When America first went tripping.

CAVE WOMAN

Beatriz Flamini liked solitude so much that she decided to live underground for five hundred days.

CRÈME DE LA CRÈME

Sofia Coppola’ path to filming gilded adolescence.

GOODYEAR

On tires, toenails, and walks with an old friend.

THE TALK OF THE TOWN

As a way of launching the race for the Republican Presidential nomination, the Iowa and New Hampshire contests offer a neat thematic juxtaposition: in the Midwest, candidates fight for the social-conservative vote; in New England, for the support of small-business owners.

IMPASSE

\"Prayer for the French Republic\" comes to Broadway.

GHOST TOWN

The return of \"True Detective,\" on HBO.

HOSTAGES

As Benjamin Netanyahu clings to power, his country pays a price.

MILLENNIAL FABLE

Once upon a time, around 2010 or so, there lived a hardworking ant and a carefree grasshopper. The grasshopper was hopping to his heart’s content one sunny morning when the ant trudged by, bearing a large load.

Shamelessly Dramatic

In the plays of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, ugly feelings find sophisticated forms.

MIND IN FLUX

The viscerally complex music of George Lewis.

THE BEACH HOUSE

She was hoping he would leave her the beach house, counting on this actually, though he had told her he wasn’t going to.

SHOWING UP

Has school attendance become optional?

The Cats of L.A.

The "No Kill” movement helps keep cats outdoors. The consequences belie the name.