My Best Pieces
Best of 2024 (so far): Loving Vegas
Best of 2023: Murders & Acquisitions
Best of 2022: All About Dave
Murders & Acquisitions: the rise, fall, and rebirth of American Psycho: The Musical
“Tragically, in the final week, just as it was about to close, it felt how it should been the whole time; with raving crowds who didn’t just love the sex and blood, but ran their hand through the pooling blood on the stage, and wished there had been a splatter zone to get soaked in the front row (which was briefly considered). “It felt like a rock concert,” Jesse Singer told me. “I remember looking around and thinking, why are we doing this in a proscenium? Why do we even have seats?” And then, eight performances later, it was gone. The following Sunday, Lynne Page texted Rupert Goold, “How are you? You alright?” “You know, not really,” he replied.”
Loving Vegas: my ode to America’s most American city
“Walking through the strip on my final night in Vegas, a Saturday night, I'd never seen so many different groups of people in a city, out and about, smiling, or laughing. There were a few dancing in the street; others getting pictures with hot topless men; a family smiling, balloons in hand; a group of Gen Z friends laughing about going to The Selfie Museum pissed. In a city built for pleasure and watching other people loving their night out, I want more of these Saturdays. I will get more of those Saturdays. It's not just easy to fall in love in Vegas. It's easy to fall in love with Vegas. I did.”
All About Dave: the tragic rise of Dave Rubin
“To his friends, Rubin is loyal but sensitive about it. To strangers, he is charismatic and charming. And to those he disagrees with or who have slighted him, he is a vindictive, reactionary bully. As his friends privately admit, he is psychologically ill-equipped for the position in which he has found himself. The story of his meteoric rise to fame is, finally, a strangely tragic one. He is Faust’s Republican, the fallen clown, and the definition of the kind of elitist he has always most despised — hypersensitive, hyper-partisan, and failing upwards.”
The Useful Influencers of Shein: on shame, Soviets, and the moral corruption of the internet
“Parker was pushed out of respectable journalism for his bootlicking, but fashion influencers love their boots, and there is no bar too low. The lack of apology is almost admirable, because she’s not going to change. Her entire personal business and public personality depends on these brands, and their cycle of constant, rabid overconsumption. Through her styling videos, Dani advertises an endless amount of cheap affiliate-linked garbage, and tells you that, no matter your size, you’ll look fabulous in it. If you’re young, and sensitive about the way you look —particularly due to your weight — you’re the perfect prey for that. She’s not a “confidence activist,” but a tasteless marketer, getting rich off the insecurity of her followers, paid in dirty money.”
In Sight of the Metaverse: on the very real goldmines of virtual worlds
“Trying it felt like the future. It made me excited about tech — and I wasn’t alone. When the headset released, Twitter was flooded with people pretending to use them as they drove, or sat on the subway, or stepped out of Cybertrucks looking like jackasses. YouTube was filled with viral content of creators trying it out.
But in the months since, you probably haven’t thought much about the Vision Pro. You didn’t buy one and you don’t feel as though you’re missing out on the revolution. And that’s not surprising.”
And So, Glashütte Ticks On: on Nomos, A. Lange & Sohne, and the watches of Germany
“In an era where watches are not needed to show the time, they’ve often just become a way to show you’re rich. But that’s not what the best of watch culture is. It’s not about beautiful hotels and black limos and spending piles of cash. It’s not why Pete, who has worked at Lange for sixteen years, perfectly carving balance cocks, or the tattooed Mark, another worker, assembles those tiny bicycle chains, or the ladies in the hillside Nomos Chronometrie building — giggling as they try to avoid tour-group cameras — arrive at six in the morning to start assembling watches.”
The Talented, Doomed Mr. Sunak: on the disappointing, short tenure of Rishi Sunak
“Looking in the rearview mirror, it would be easy to say my enthusiasm for Sunak was simply misplaced. Perhaps. But his fundamental qualities still could have made for an all-time great Prime Minister. He’s clever, unmarred by scandal, detail oriented, and when better to be lead by a Stanford MBA than during a time of economic depression? If only he had a spine.
Rather than making major improvements to his country, Sunak has spent his time in Downing Street quivering at the sight of newspapers, scared of what the press might say about him, never passing policy with any risk or ambition lest they slap him down.”
How Chanel Went Shit: on the slow collapse of one of the great fashion houses.
“They’re stuck with the signature items of Coco, and legacy of Lagerfeld, too scared to risk moving outside them, even as stagnation slowly kills their brand…. Viard’s debut ready-to-wear collection was presented on a stunning Parisian rooftop terrace set, perfectly in line with 2010s Lagerfeld; but so were the clothes. What much of the fashion press politely described as “simple,” “clean” and “traditional,” fashion TikTokkers rightfully blasted as being dull and utterly predictable. This was a new era, with a new designer, and yet it looked exactly like what had come before. Where competitors like Prada (and Miu Miu), Louis Vuitton and Gucci have consistently pushed their designs forward, retaining their signature (high margin) pieces whilst also innovating on their signature look, Chanel hasn’t”
Virgil Abloh: A Life in Reimagination: an obituary to the fashion designer
“ Abloh once remarked, “To call it ‘streetwear’ is in some ways to say, ‘That's not fashion design, what you guys do.’” And yet, by the time Abloh died this past November, streetwear had taken over the high-end. It’s the foundation of the most interesting, new, social-media-driven brands. It’s made by every famous European name. And it’s the most desired, hyped clothing on the planet. And for that, Abloh will go down in history as one of the most famous designers to have lived, alongside Halston, Lagerfeld, Ford, and Chanel, however unexpected that may seem.”
Mr Uygur Goes to Washington: on Cenk Uygur’s long-shot run against Joe Biden.
“…away from the culture wars, he shows himself to have far more interesting, practical thoughts than most on the more terminally online left, and a more astute approach to politics. Uygur contains multitudes and complex contradictions; both populist advocate and internet entrepreneur; a Republican lawyer turned leftist barnburner; a champion of the young who often dismisses their stupid, impractical views; an agitator in a dumb, loud political scene that he’s fed up with. For those of think-tanks and cocktail clubs, he’s easy to dismiss; but he often sees what they miss.”
Pornstars for Palestine: on Mia Khalifa, Michael Lucas, and the attention economy of porn
“Though there has been much backlash from the part of humanity that doesn’t support the slaughter of Jews, Khalifa has also earned a lot of stans in her comments cheering on her barbs. But Khalifa’s antisemitic anti-Zionism, while it appears sincere, is also a grift; a sign of the broken economy of online adult influencers that incentivizes provocation and extreme rhetoric over everything else. Even more than porn, applauding Hamas has given Khalifa the most important currency in the internet economy: attention.”