The trick to enjoying the latest incarnations of great British TV detectives? Pretend they’re entirely new characters. airmail.news/sh/g3hymK

“Your son joined the leisure class as of 2 a.m. Saturday when the printers unions went on strike and all the papers shut down.” —Tom Wolfe, in a letter to his parents. airmail.news/sh/n5h398

In “Fallow,” Sarah Anderson’s all-too-plausible satirical debut, a young woman becomes the first in-house surrogate at a large corporation that sounds uncannily like Meta. airmail.news/issues/2026-10-…

Remy Renzullo never set out to run a hotel in Tuscany. He was overseeing renovations at Castle Howard when he met an architect whose family had inherited an 11-bedroom hotel. airmail.news/issues/2026-10-…

“Bordeaux wines have never been better, and rarely have they offered such extraordinary value for money—even among the greatest wines.” —Florence Cathiard, co-owner of Château Smith Haut Lafitte. airmail.news/sh/7Xh72q

Sant Ambroeus’s culinary director researches Renaissance recipes dating back to Caterina de Medici, who famously introduced the fork to the French court. airmail.news/sh/7Xh73l

On the short list of things Larry admits to being good at: “Detecting when I’ve said something and inadvertently hurt someone’s feelings. I’ll know it on the drive home.”airmail.news/sh/e9h4gy

Kelly Clarkson posted a photo seemingly showing Molly on sale for $15,000. Art of Play says she could buy an identical model of the mechanical bird by the same artist for $15,000. airmail.news/sh/3Ehmyx

Tina Barney took her first photography course in Sun Valley, Idaho. Soon after, she drove 27 hours to Houston to show her prints to a museum curator, who acquired them on the spot. airmail.news/sh/6Zh599

Hunter S. Thompson’s plan to win the Honolulu Marathon: sprint the first three miles with Ralph Steadman in under 10 minutes, so far ahead that “they won’t even be able to see us.” airmail.news/sh/lAh83p

Reports of the arrest supplied enough details to identify the suspect. Online sleuths connected the dots in a split second. An arrest had begun to look like a verdict. airmail.news/sh/kOhR26

Theranos’s lobby had little gold sinks on pedestals because Elizabeth Holmes liked to wash her hands a lot, and conference rooms named for Isaac Newton and Jonas Salk. airmail.news/sh/z5hjq6

Flannel isn’t a Paul Bunyan hand-me-down. It’s a layering piece. The key is to make it a supporting player, not the star. airmail.news/sh/ZyhXAa

Larry David’s first D.S.A. proposal: all doors to private homes stay unlocked. Strangers may enter “to open your fridge, use your bathroom, floss, or just relax and watch a ball game.” airmail.news/sh/n5h3p8

The Metropolitan Opera premieres “Lincoln in the Bardo” on October 19, an adaptation of George Saunders’s novel with music by Missy Mazzoli and a libretto by Royce Vavrek. airmail.news/sh/PEhEo9

When the Paulis opened Sant Ambroeus on Madison Avenue in 1982, they brought New York its first real espressos, real cornetti, and panini. airmail.news/sh/7Xh73l

Nicholas Brandram’s sisters are adamant that their brother was not the Putney Pusher. They are campaigning to clear his name and hold the police accountable. airmail.news/sh/kOhR26

Many renowned Bordeaux now sell for less than their Napa Valley Cabernet counterparts, which is why Bordeaux is one of the best values in wine today. airmail.news/sh/7Xh72q

Art of Play says Kelly Clarkson had been trying to buy Molly, a “one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who is permanently attached to our walls and isn’t for sale.” airmail.news/sh/3Ehmyx

“There’s nothing interesting about me and there’s no interest in me.” Larry David’s first e-mail to his future biographer. After a pitch, his follow-up: “Oh Jesus. If we must.” airmail.news/sh/e9h4gy