Morning Meeting Air Mail

This week, Johanna Berkman reports on the turmoil rocking Harvard. Then, Bill Keenan has the wild story of what happened when the Pittsburgh Penguins had the crazy idea to try to profit off of what remained of the vaunted Red Army hockey team following the collapse of the Soviet Union. And finally, Bob Colacello remembers Marina Cicogna, an Italian countess who transcended her gilded background to become Europe’s first major female film producer.

This week, Christopher Mason has the amazing story of how (and why) a trusted confidante to New York’s most elite and powerful hid her true identity. Then Dan Raviv discusses his jaw-dropping report from Israel: how the men who led the country’s vaunted security forces ignored intelligence alerts—because the reports were from female soldiers. Finally, the always witty Linda Wells stops by to talk about all the latest news in beauty and wellness.

This week, Jensen Davis takes us inside her shocking story about an evangelical-based parenting program that has been operating for 40 years and teaches parents that babies are morally corrupt and must be broken of their waywardness. Then, speaking of incredible stories, acclaimed screenwriter Scott Z. Burns tells us just what A.I. gets wrong about creativity. And finally, John Mauceri has the tale of the unforgettable night Jacqueline Kennedy went to the opera and watched the inamorata of her future husband give an electrifying performance.

This week, Flora Gill discusses why all of us will soon be unable to avoid Kim Kardashian’s nipples. Then, while we’re on the subject of divas, it’s been impossible to avoid the new memoir by Barbra Streisand. Yet there’s one problem with the book, which clocks in at almost 1,000 pages: there’s no index. No way to find out if you are one of the thousands of people she mentions. Luckily, here at Air Mail, we’ve solved that problem for you, and George Kalogerakis will tell us all about our latest public service, the Streisand Index. And on the subject of obsessions: Sam Wasson, who knows the history of Hollywood like few other writers, shares with us how the famed director Stanley Kubrick tried to take on Napoleon, yet in the process suffered his own creative Waterloo.

This week, Graydon Carter takes us inside a special edition of Air Mail that is all about London, and he shares the places he loves there. Then the acclaimed writer Will Self will share his version of “the Knowledge”—London cabbies’ ability to navigate their streets without a map—by sharing treasures he’s discovered over a lifetime of walking his native city. And speaking of knowledge, Stuart Heritage tells us about his afternoon with the gentleman who is often called “the best-connected man in Britain.” And finally, it’s been said that the U.S. and the U.K. are “two nations divided by a common language.” Well, Hannah Betts swings by to discuss the four-letter word beloved by Brits but hated by Americans that validates this divide more than any other. And let’s just say it’s a word that we can’t even bring ourselves to utter. All this and more make it a show you won’t want to miss.

Gen Z–ers and millennials have grown up agreeing on where to stand on seemingly every social and political issue. But now they find themselves divided. Kat Rosenfield tells us how the fighting in Israel has become the first true wedge issue for those under 40. Then filmmaker Mickey Rapkin explains why he made a dark comedy about Anne Frank. And finally, Linda Wells reveals everything you need to know about looking good this fall. And if you’re getting ready for the new season of The Crown, Linda has the inside story on the man whom Princess Diana trusted above so many others. Who is he? You’ll want to find out. All this and more make it a show you won’t want to miss.