Category Culture

Tranquility in a City Without Peace

Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.’s own rural manor house, opens again for the winter season. Credit: image via Shutterstock For the last few weeks, most people in Washington, D.C. have been feverishly counting down the days until the presidential election. Not…

McDonald’s Goes Native

The fast food chain is in the news as a proxy for “regular” America, but in the global era, it has become all things to all peoples. The late M. Stanton Evans used to say that when he went to…

Barry Blitt’s “Back with a Vengeance”

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story On the morning of Wednesday, November 6th, Donald J. Trump was elected, for the second time, as President of the United States. For the cover of the November 18, 2024, issue,…

“A Real Pain” Fails to Stay in Its Discomfort Zone

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story A road movie with a twist, “A Real Pain”—which Jesse Eisenberg wrote, directed, and stars in—builds the eventful but thin foreground of its journey on a deep foundation of memory and…

Quincy Jones Had Something for Everyone

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story In my youth, in the nineteen-nineties, my record-store experiences were governed by what was, or wasn’t, in my pockets. I was a frequent attendee at the bargain bin, because I had…

Barry Blitt’s “Tightrope”

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this story As the 2024 Presidential race nears its end, the country seems more and more divided, with democracy hanging in the balance. For the cover of the November 11, 2024, issue, the…

Helen, Help Me: What If You’re Dining with a Jerk?

Save this storySave this storySave this storySave this storyYou’re reading the Food Scene newsletter, Helen Rosner’s guide to what, where, and how to eat. Sign up to receive it in your in-box. We don’t always get to choose our dining…