Ryu Spaeth

How an Embittered Brit Decimated the Washington Post Inside Will Lewis’s disastrous attempts to revitalize the paper.

When I was in the inside, @charlottetklein.bsky.social’s coverage of WaPo was always the best-sourced and most accurate. Now that I’m on the outside, I trust this more than anything else.

nymag.com/intelligence...

How an Embittered Brit Decimated the Washington Post Inside Will Lewis’s disastrous attempts to revitalize the paper.

must-read from @charlottetklein.bsky.social on the disastrous Will Lewis tenure at @washingtonpost.com nymag.com/intelligence...

How an Embittered Brit Decimated the Washington Post Inside Will Lewis’s disastrous attempts to revitalize the paper.

“He had two settings: charming Brit and asshole Brit. And he quickly moved into the latter category." @charlottetklein.bsky.social with the essential deep dive on how Will Lewis gutted the Post: nymag.com/intelligence...

Fantastic profile.

What Mira Nair Taught Zohran Mamdani The mayor’s famous filmmaker mother reveals the origins of his ferocious ambition.

Cannot believe that I got to profile an extraordinary filmmaker, who happens to be the mother of NYC’s new mayor, and think about intersections of art and politics, and how familial love might produce a buffer against the corrosive politics and cynicism of our time. My story about Mira Nair:

A terrific profile of Mira Nair by @rtraister.bsky.social that sheds so much light on Zohran's upbringing, including his more-fraught-than-previously-known college admissions process www.vulture.com/article/what...

How the Epstein Files Turned Everyone Into Conspiracists It turns out we really are governed by an overclass of degenerate elites. And now anyone can investigate them.

If you can't stop searching through the Epstein files, this one is for you: nymag.com/intelligence...

Nancy Mace Is Not Okay “Something’s broken. The motherboard’s fried. We’re short-circuiting somewhere.”

“Look, when I worked for her, our poor scheduler was getting calls at two o’clock in the morning to come bring her bottles of tequila,”a former staffer claimed of incidents they recalled going back to 2021.
nymag.com/intelligence...

Inside the Washington Post’s Existential Meltdown “There’s no vision for why it should exist.”

“What’s the plan after this?” a former Post reporter wondered. “You cut however many hundreds of people to solve the fact that you’re still losing lots of money. Then what?”
nymag.com/intelligence...

Did Success Spoil Noah Baumbach? The director is at his best when he’s depicting men who resent the world for not recognizing their genius.

I wrote about one of my favorite directors and his recent run of poor form: www.vulture.com/article/noah...

‘The Superhuman President’ A good-faith attempt to ascertain the truth about Donald Trump’s health.

A truly remarkable window into an American presidency: nymag.com/intelligence...

The People vs. ICE Renee Good’s death galvanized a city eager to push back against Trump’s invasion.

I wrote about Minneapolis.

nymag.com/intelligence...

The Takeover of Kirk Country How the dark forces of conspiracism remade MAGA’s youth movement.

“The Groypers are, you know, I mean, they’re a lot like me" — just one of many college conservatives @svzwood.bsky.social interviewed in this eye-opening tour of the post-Charlie Kirk world: nymag.com/intelligence...

Wrote about the Ellisons attempted takeover of Hollywood for the new cover of @nymag.com

This is so good

The Son King of Hollywood With help from his billionaire father, Larry, David Ellison is trying to become the biggest studio mogul in history.

Great entertainment from start to finish in this portrait of a family with severe daddy issues, by @reeveswiedeman.bsky.social www.vulture.com/article/larr...

The Making of Mayor Mamdani Zohran Mamdani is a brilliant political talent with dizzying ambitions to change New York City as its new mayor. Is he ready for the actual job, though?

Zohran Mamdani is a brilliant political talent with dizzying ambitions to change New York City as its new mayor. Is he ready for the actual job, though?

Bari Weiss in Wonderland Her exile in Hollywood paved the way for a triumphant return to New York.

if you were an okay hang with an ivy league degree in LA in the past decade you could get in a room for a "funny" netflix adult animated show about trauma and healing or whatever. if you were a GREAT hang with an ivy league degree in LA you could get david ellison to buy your substack for $150m

Bari Weiss In Wonderland Her exile in Hollywood paved the way for a triumphant return to New York.

"Chris Pine is there, and Bob Iger is there, and all of these A-list writers who’ve won Oscars. And all anyone wants to do is talk to Bari Weiss." @charlottetklein.bsky.social on Bari Weiss's Hollywood-fueled comeback: nymag.com/intelligence...

Here’s to never knowing who you'll run into on the subway — and to #ReasonstoLoveNewYork, our 21st annual reminder of why (rent hikes, rat kings, and all) we wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. www.curbed.com/article/reas...

Watched, Tracked, and Targeted in Gaza Life under Israel’s all-encompassing surveillance regime.

I spent sixteen months reporting this story. It follows how surveillance tech is rewriting Gaza in real time — and what it’s doing to the people inside it. Reported in partnership with @justvision.org's Palestine Reporting Lab and published in @nymag.com

Falling Off the Aging Cliff at 44 Elder millennials have gotten away with seeming young for a long time, but research shows that aging catches up with us at distinct moments — the first comes at 44.

Elder millennials have gotten away with seeming young for a long time, but research shows that aging catches up with us at distinct moments — the first comes at 44.

Watched, Tracked, and Targeted in Gaza Life under Israel’s all-encompassing surveillance regime.

"This is the dystopian consequence of technology, supplied in part by American companies, being placed into the hands of authorities who have virtually unlimited control over a captive population they have openly villainized." By @mohamhawish.bsky.social in @nymag.com nymag.com/intelligence...

Me Too Forever Why the backlash was so short-lived.

Wrote about the backlash to the backlash to the backlash to the backlash there are no waves we are swimming through circular currents and why we’re not on the Faludi style backlash of the right (& center and left’s) dreams: www.thecut.com/article/why-...

Jeffrey Epstein, King of the Dweebs Why did so many powerful nerds see the pedophile financier as cool?

"Readers will recognize in this version of Epstein not the sociopathic blackmail artist he is rumored to have been but a more quotidian figure: the nerd whom other nerds regard as cool." nymag.com/intelligence...

Waiting, Impatiently, for 2028 An extremely early, surely premature analysis of who might win the Democratic presidential primary.

nymag.com/intelligence...

And tomorrow: Ben Terris with an extremely early look at the nascent 2028 primary....

The 25 Young(ish) New Democrats to Watch The most promising politicians of the next generation defy easy categorization.

The 25 Young(ish) New Democrats to Watch (only one of whom had to cover up his Nazi tattoo!!): nymag.com/intelligence...

It’s My Party and I’ll Leave When I Want To Talking to the gerontocracy.

And here's @rtraister.bsky.social on the Olds v the Youngs: nymag.com/intelligence...

Socialism or Abundance? Two visions fight for the Democratic Party’s soul as it searches for purpose, direction, and a modicum of popularity.

The @nymag.com annual Power Issue is devoted to the Democrats, who, yes, do not have much power at all, but that's what makes them so interesting! Everything is up for grabs. First up is Simon van Zuylen-Wood on the Bernie Bros v the Abundance Bros: nymag.com/intelligence...