1/2 Good luck seeing shows by the Italian director Emma Dante in NYC. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/09/t...

Does The Athletic know something the rest of us don’t? Has the US switched to Celsius overnight?

Whoever is behind this Liberty substack has become one of my favorite writers, capturing the essence of a game and of the players, fab imagery, funny. No notes. substack.com/@thestomp/no...

What year is this?!? www.brooklynvegan.com/dromfest-202...

Regardless of everything else about those decisions, Dolan getting into a trolling war with someone as savvy as the NYC mayor is a hilariously misguided move.

I’ve been ardently following the World Cup since I was a kid but I find it hard to muster much interest in this one. FIFA + the state of the US have pretty much done it.

This will go down as a major stain on FIFA and its World Cup before a ball has even been kicked. Infantino has been banging on about the most inclusive World Cup and Africa’s top referee can’t even get into the country. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/w...

Tonight of all nights, I want the home team to lose so badly.

The Bagel Pub is trolling me.

Just need everyone to know that the Belgium men's soccer team has new jerseys based on the art of Rene Magritte and this is the official photo shoot

Once again I'm part of the NY Times team covering the Tony Awards live: www.nytimes.com/live/2026/06...

worst vibes of any world cup i can remember, and the last two were in qatar and russia

Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! A great music read after midnight! ✨@evincentelli.bsky.social’s “Abba's Abba Gold” shines in @abc7ny.bsky.social’s feature on The Vinyl Word book club. Watch it here: https://bit.ly/4vgDwg8 📚💙 #MusicSky #PopSky @3313books.bsky.social

Breaking News: Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian-French author whose graphic novel series “Persepolis” illuminated the struggles of Iranians during the Islamic Revolution, died at 56.

Back when the United States built big stuff that benefited many.

Terribly sad news: Dito van Reigersberg, co-founder of the Philly company Pig Iron and known in drag as Martha Graham Cracker, has passed away from cancer. An email has been set up to send "memories, poems, artwork, photos, videos and messages" for his family: [email protected].

Hollywood perfection youtu.be/fBYB-aGHNVg

Six months ago Zayd Ayers Dohrn talked about his musical with Tom Morello, "Revolution(s)," and his family on the podcast. Listen to him while you read his new book, "Dangerous, Dirty, Violent and Young," about his Weather Underground parents marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/zayd-ayers...

Almost as fun reading about it as it was watching it at the theater www.nytimes.com/2026/05/29/t...

Skimbleshanks the railway cat in the subway! youtube.com/watch?v=DjN-...

These guys know their business, sure, but they've been tasked with the impossible. Paddington 2 scans as if Shakespeare and Moliere both rose from their graves and banged out one last triumph together. Fool's errand to go near a franchise after such work. And no, I'm not being hyperbolic.

How to revitalize a company www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/a...

Personal hightlight from this conversaion: when I mentioned a prominent critic's callous comment during the "Good People" intermission and David Lindsay-Abaire immediately figured out who it was! marksvincentelli.substack.com/p/a-witty-wr...

Of course I binged the Kylie Minogue doc on Netflix. Couple of striking things: - the disdain, often outright loathing, that used to meet pure pop singers like Kylie. The questions interviewers felt free to ask in TV interviews feel stunning now. - sensational Nick Cave scenes in Ep. 2.

Kindness to wildlife is essential, as the biosphere comes under more and more stress. But also as more people seem to view animals as annoyances or just there to be a photographed or even to be insensate, inanimate. (Wildlife rescues are under extraordinary strain and deserve your support.)

Jesus Lizard The Go-Betweens Beat Happening Boris Millie Jackson Kid Creole and the Coconuts Róisín Murphy My Bloody Valentine Mayhem Front 242

At least 10 weeks a year? Whoa, don’t get carried away! Nice to see that music directors keep on earning frequent flyer miles. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/a...

Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones played on the French pop maverick Michel Polnareff's first single. Now it's 60 years later and Polnareff is headlining a free show in Central Park on July 12. Surreal. And yeah, I'll be there. youtu.be/FcdeEp3inWE

This wonderful piece doesn't go where you might assume it's going considering the subhed and that it's from an Italian writing about American tourists in Italy. www.thedial.world/articles/new...

Look who's getting the 2026 regional theater Tony Award! I'm so happy for American Players Theater. This is a great acknowledgement of just how good they are. www.nytimes.com/2024/08/12/t...

For some reason I really got stuck on this bit in the Wallace Shawn interview: "When the cinema’s publicist offers him a Twix bar, he cocks his head and asks what that is, but politely accepts one." www.theguardian.com/stage/ng-int...

“Remember, it’s the Bill of Rights, not the Jill of Rights.”

Three of my favorite productions of 2026 have been operas: "What to Wear" at BAM, "Innocence" at the Met and Heartbeat Opera's "Vanessa." Check out that last if you want to see what an imaginative director can do with a white wall and dramatic lighting. www.heartbeatopera.org/vanessa

This week we talked to the guys who broke the vampire-musical curse! open.substack.com/pub/marksvin...

Two fab almost-standalone episodes dropped recently: “Beach Reads” in “Widow’s Bay” (Patricia’s Wicker Man party) and “Montecito” in “Hacks” (Deborah and Ava pretend to be a couple). Sharp writing and just exceptional acting in both. Emmy submissions for sure.

Jesus Christ this is the most chilling thing I've read in ages. The "new understanding of truth" described here is not new in any way, it is basically a return to pre-literate dark ages & the inevitable result is going to be fascism.

Once again I'm part of the NY Times team covering Eurovision live. If you're in the US, you can stream it for free on the official Eurovision channel on YouTube. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05...

See also: cars. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/14/m...

July 2017.

I want to scream every time I see a reference to NYC having “world class” public transportation.

This one is a celebration. By Helen Shaw, Jesse Green, Elisabeth Vincentelli and me, with Sara Krulwich’s beautiful visuals. (gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/t...

I’ll watch Tessa Thompson in pretty much anything, so right now that means the preposterous “His & Hers.” Great supporting cast esp. Marin Ireland (in her cracked-character wheelhouse), Sunita Mani (give her the procedural she deserves!) and Pablo Schreiber (who’s overdue for a play).

Kris Kristofferson, Isabelle Huppert & Michael Cimino, Cannes, 1981.

"Paranormal Activity" is coming to Broadway in August! Guess who already was onto this show last year? Why, 'tis me! This piece also features some great video btw. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/t...

The NY Times' dance section keeps sending it www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/a...

Jeez, I wonder why people don’t want to travel to an inhospitable country often lacking good public transportation so they can stay in overpriced accommodations and then be gouged by FIFA for the matches themselves.

Terrifying to read about differences between the US and other countries in the way public health authorities are dealing with the hantavirus cases. This is what happens when you dismantle public health and erode confidence in basic precautions to prevent an epidemic from spreading.

I wrote about being inundated with AI writing at every turn, unwittingly turning my brain into the AI police, and how shitty AI writing is randomly showing up in my real life outside of the internet www.404media.co/your-ai-use-...

Israel’s efforts to influence the vote for the Eurovision Song Contest to improve its international reputation were far broader than previously known, a New York Times investigation found. Here is the inside story of the controversy that almost broke Eurovision. nyti.ms/3Rellcg

“Giant” is a play of ideas and conflicts, and we had a great conversation about it and more with its author, Mark Rosenblatt. open.substack.com/pub/marksvin...