The casa grande could be an ancient chalet in the Austrian Tyrol. A steeply gabled roof to slough off the winter snow, dandelion-yellow paintwork, and inside a treasure trove of all an outdoorsman loves. Antlers jostle for space on every wall. There is a tack room thick with the leathery tang of saddles, a bathroom
Colm Tóibín explores the art of short story writing
hen I was 20 and tentatively trying to write, every single person I knew read Ian McEwan’s First Love, Last Rites (1975). It not only gave the short story a good name, but it also gave writing a good name. It was like a punk moment converted into fiction. People used the word “macabre,” but there was a sort of excitement about the characters, the strangeness of the stories, the shortness of some of the stories and just how much contemporary urban life was in them.
It’s a popular phrase on X, usually in response to someone accomplishing something remarkable, taken to mean that there’s nothing stopping you from doing something out of the ordinary. SpaceX might post video of a rocket landing – “you can just do things.” Victor Vescovo might be the living embodiment of the phrase.
My first introduction to Vescovo was an email from him, extending an invitation to be a guest at his table for the Explorers Club Annual Dinner. The name was vaguely familiar to me but didn’t immediately register. Who was this mysterious correspondent?
The US-Israeli war against Iran, far from encouraging a popular uprising, has strengthened the regime’s grip and set back the cause of Iranian freedom indefinitely.
In Everthing Is Now, J. Hoberman chronicles a radical avant-garde’s attempts to jostle New York City out of its postwar complacency and moral retrenchment.
Everything Is Now: The 1960s New York Avant-Garde—Primal Happenings, Underground Movies, Radical Pop by J. Hoberman
Walter Lippmann was the most influential political commentator of his generation, but behind his preternatural confidence was a far more complicated and unsettled character.
Walter Lippmann: An Intellectual Biography by Tom Arnold-Forster
Even if the waterway reopened today, oil would take more than a month to reach consumers. The economic shock from the war in Iran could take far longer to ease.
President Trump and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who have had a rocky relationship, will meet for talks on security, trade and critical minerals.
Intelligence agents have privately warned of the potential of hybrid attacks from Iran-linked groups. But political leaders, including Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have publicly played down the risk.
It’s fair to say that the Guardian Weekly does not cover many royal visits, but King Charles III’s US state visit was the most consequential of his reign so far. The king’s ostensible purpose was to celebrate America’s 250 years of independence but last week’s trip was freighted with other agendas, most important of which was to flatter his host, Donald Trump. Washington bureau chief David Smith’s cover story shows how “like a rapier wrapped in ermine, Charles managed to tame Trump while rebuking Trumpism”. Both David and our veteran foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall unpick the skill with which Charles spoke truth to this capricious and egotistical president and gave both sides of the heavily divided Congress much to praise. It was a performance of high diplomacy at a time of huge tension in the transatlantic relationship and beyond.
But the charm didn’t wash in New York where, as Adam Gabbatt’s sketch shows, the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Charles’s disgraced brother, lurked while the mayor, Zohran Mamdani, brought up the spectre of colonialism in the shape of the Koh-i-noor diamond, snatched under disputed circumstances.
Spotlight | A small town in Germany Landstuhl, the heart of the largest American military community outside the US, considers its future after Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops, reports Deborah Cole
Environment | A gift of wings Patrick Barkham takes off for a flight of wonder with The Lost Words duo, who have reunited for a new book on endangered birds
Feature | A balm for tiger mother myths Rebecca Liu explores why a certain image of the tiger mum – strict, cold and demanding – is ubiquitous in popular culture
Opinion | Antiracists need to stand up for us all Another attack on the UK’s Jewish population demands a clear show of solidarity from those who march to protect minorities, argues Jonathan Freedland
Culture | Moose magic on the loose How do cameras capture Sweden’s seasonal TV hit, the Great Moose Migration? Malcolm Jack travels to an uninhabited island in the Ångerman river to ask the show’s makers
With the opening of the 61st Biennale di Venezia, a number of the magazine’s features engage with the history and contemporary culture of the storied city. Jenny Saville speaks with art historian Stefania Ventra to mark her major exhibition at Ca’ Pesaro–Galleria Internazionale d’Arte Moderna. In an essay bridging the Republic of Venice and the twenty-first century, Ben Street explores the timeless resonance of Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo’s tragicomic frescoes. And Nancy Spector discusses her bold pairing of Richard Prince and Arthur Jafa in an exhibition at the Fondazione Prada.
In the world of literature, Helen Oyeyemi shares the second installment of her fiction series As You Wish, Mary Gaitskill speaks with Jill Mulleady about their recent Picture Books collaboration inspired by Faust, Wyatt Allgeier interviews Andrew Durbin on the occasion of his new dual biography of Peter Hujar and Paul Thek, and Alana Pockros guides us through the refractive wonderlands of novelist Elaine Kraf.
Elsewhere in the issue, Carlos Valladares ponders Charli XCX’s mockumentary The Moment, Janne Sirén examines Anselm Kiefer’s mythological figures, and three luminaries from the worlds of design, fashion, and food—Ronan Bouroullec, Michèle Lamy, and Enrique Olvera—consider the furniture of Donald Judd.
Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced there had been “great progress” toward a deal with Iran. The U.S. paused an operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump Promised Transparency in Venezuela, but Oil Secrets Linger
U.S. and Venezuelan officials have promised a new era of accountability after Nicolás Maduro’s downfall. But Venezuela’s oil industry remains a black hole.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. naval efforts to escort ships through the strait were a defensive effort, after an Iranian official warned of escalation.
Secret Recordings, Hidden Shares and a Family Rift at South Korea’s LG
An inheritance dispute over the former chairman’s estate has prompted a criminal complaint over how the family behind the conglomerate divides its assets.
Donald Trump’s aversion to admitting fault suggests that we will not likely see events that grapple with the nuanced nature of the nation’s history this July 4th. By Jelani Cobb
Was the Declaration of Independence Better Before the Edits?
Amid contention, criticism, and compromise, a divided nation had to present a unified front. It came at a cost. By Jill Lepore
Barack Obama Considers His Role in the Age of Trump
The former President remains one of the most popular politicians in the country. What are his obligations to it?
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
Gagosian Quarterly
Boomers Daily 