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The Occidental Book of the Dead
Out now
It’s almost impossible to describe Johnson’s latest book, a 672-page puzzle of a novel that keeps changing form while unpacking urgent social issues like police corruption and violence.
Vroom
Reptile Dysfunction
“
You’re trying to capture a feeling. That’s more important than anything, because movies are, first and foremost, an unbelievable delivery system for emotion. Everything else is secondary. ”
Smoke Show
Out now
It’s almost impossible to describe Johnson’s latest book, a 672-page puzzle of a novel that keeps changing form while unpacking urgent social issues like police corruption and violence.
Out October 13
Passengers follows Ivan, a lonely man in his seventies, and his estranged daughter Nina as they attempt to reconnect on a trip to Europe. Stranded at LAX by endless delays and cancellations, they confront years of resentment, misunderstanding and unresolved love. What begins as an intimate father-daughter drama gradually becomes an eerie suspense story about family, survival and reconciliation amid collapse.
Out October 27
This highly-anticipated book takes us inside a mysterious realm on the other side of our screens. A dark force that draws victims into its static. An unlikely hero is called to save them and herself from this electric hell.
Room to Move
Game On
“
A compound producing an effect in a laboratory, showing promise in an animal or accumulating glowing online testimonials does not establish what happens after five or 10 years of human use.”
Worth It?
Night Moves
You’ve heard of BEAMS, the legendary Japanese retailer. Well, MR_BEAM is the brand’s biannual menswear style book and magazine-format catalog published by the BEAMS team, highlighting its classic and casual menswear lines. And the Insta account offers plenty of stylish inspiration.
Star Power
Patty Melts
“
Each of these 99 barrels was selected for its exceptional character, and after 14 years of aging, they deliver the bold, complex profile that defines King of Kentucky.”
Telling Time
Vroom
Pair With
Also Worth a Watch
Shaken, Stirred
Land of the Rising Room
“
It puts the same 542 hp as the electrified full-size Range Rover into a smaller, more dynamic package.”
Hip Check
Making Scents
Why are we reminding you to find yourself a local cobbler in your area? Easy. They're our best-kept secret to owning Prada, Gucci and Stubbs & Wootton shoes without ever spending retail.
Face Value
Safari So Good
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The Club Sport Neomatik Worldtimer Dark dons a new dial color scheme that may look familiar to most watch enthusiasts.”
Ticker Talk
Vroom
Available now
Aimé Leon Dore's Fall/Winter '26 capsule reworks mid-century workwear staples in chalk and hickory stripe denims. There are trucker and chore jackets, painter pants, bucket and logo hats, all cut from the hardwearing striped fabrics. It’s a straightforward, rugged-leaning drop that mixes the brand's usual vocabulary of Americana downtown polish.
Bend, Don't Break
Mind & Muscle
“
Donckerwolke made his name working on dramatic Lamborghinis, yet [his] 914/6 comes from another corner of automotive design entirely.”
Coastal Gems
Check Up
Out now
Serial Productions and the New York Times take on a Yale fertility clinic where dozens of women reported excruciating pain during egg retrievals. The really sad part? They were all repeatedly told it was in their heads. Five episodes of patient, infuriating reporting on how institutions handle inconvenient patients.
Out now
Jon Ronson traces the culture wars back to their origin points—one strange, small incident at a time. Same method as So You've Been Publicly Shamed: find the person at the center of a fight nobody remembers starting, and let them talk.
Out now
Ian Urbina spent years reporting on the high seas for the Times, and this CBC anthology turns that work into audio: Forced labor on fishing fleets, dumping, killings nobody prosecutes. Grim, meticulous and the rare investigative show that earns its running time. True crime fans will be in heaven.
Smoke Show
Making Scents
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You don’t have to run in biohacking circles to have noticed that red light therapy is having a moment. You could just go to the mall.”
Know Your Numbers
Spice Is Right
Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming returns from vacation to find mold growing in a discarded petri dish, leading to the accidental discovery of penicillin and the dawn of modern antibiotics. This single moment of untidiness birthed a new age in medicine and has saved an estimated 200 million lives.
Game, Set, Match
Telling Time
“
'Egyptian spice market' is not a typical tasting note for a mildly sweet and smoky Scotch.”
Money Talks
Bon Séjour
Out now
Eight episodes of HBO built entirely on Jay-Z and Rick Rubin talking. Rubin already proved the format works with Shangri-La and McCartney 3,2,1, and Jay-Z rarely sits for anything this long. Expect craft talk, not legacy burnishing.
Out now
The most watchable Star Trek in years returned for a fourth run of Strange New Worlds, the rare franchise show built on self-contained episodes rather than season-long homework. Anson Mount's Pike anchors it. This year leans into Spock, Chapel and M'Benga facing what comes next. The final episodes are still to come but there’s plenty to watch now.
Out now
Janus Metz, who made the Afghanistan doc Armadillo and directed for The Vietnam War's crowd of prestige nonfiction, turns to Ted Kaczynski. Expect procedural rigor over lurid manhunt beats. Worth a look if you want the ideas behind the bombings, not just the FBI chase.
Suede Season
Plugged In
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There’s a misconception that entrepreneurs thrive on risk-taking when, in actuality, smart entrepreneurs work hard to eliminate risk.”
Pour Decisions
Not For Sale
Ensuring a long life for your clothes isn't just about caring for them once they start showing their age. It's about proactive care, regular maintenance and buying the right garments to begin with.
Good Grief
Telling Time
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The throaty roar of Sport hits all the right notes without emitting excessive droning while cruising.”
The Big Picture
Sweat Equity
J.Crew has just relaunched its Barn Jacket, pairing a new 2026 version with a reissue of the original 1986 design. The campaign, shot across the country with a wide cast including Spike Lee, Chance The Rapper and Dave Franco, leans on the jacket’s workwear heritage and staying power as a wardrobe staple. Pick one up before they all sell out.
Dressed to Impress
Less Is More
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So, yeah, in some ways I’d rather be dangling by three fingers than dealing with life’s day-to-day headaches.”
Easy Wear
Stay Cool
Available now
Steinem, who just passed at 92, publishes her highly anticipated final memoir recounting her extraordinary life, including founding Ms. magazine and fighting for women’s rights for six decades. Her My Life on the Road proved she writes about movements the way a reporter does: on the ground, without self-congratulation.
Out September 29
Marcia Chatelain won the Pulitzer for Franchise, which used McDonald's to explain Black capitalism in America better than most economics books manage. Her follow-up arrives next fall. If you read one work of American history this year, make it the one from the historian who already proved she can reframe a subject you thought you understood.
Out September 29
Gershkovich spent 16 months in a Russian prison on fabricated espionage charges. This is the book he came back with—part captivity account, part reported portrait of a country he covered for years before it took him. One of the most anticipated books for the fall, it’s being called “propulsive . . . a taut thriller.”
