Episode 215: The Secret Life of Joan Didion

This week, Legs McNeil reports on the murder of Melvin Combs—the man who was Sean “Diddy” Combs’s father. As Legs reports, “Pretty Boy Melvin,” who had links to the notorious drug kingpin Frank Lucas, was gunned down in 1972, possibly by New York City’s Gambino crime family for being a snitch. Then Jonathan Margolis reports on why Londoners may find themselves with a shortage of drinking water. And finally, we have a look at a bookshop in London that is a favorite haunt of espionage agents.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, in lighter matters, John Lahr joins us from London to give us his take on the new stage version of Dr. Strangelove. Then Emilie Hawtin joins us from New York City to tell us about the fashion item that has been a favorite of the doyennes and uptown gents for the past 70 years but suddenly is being snapped up by Gen Z–ers and Hollywood actors.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley explain why this election is the final legacy of the baby-boomers—and why Trump is the most lasting and unpleasant legacy of this generation. Then Clara Molot joins us with her shocking report revealing how an employee at an elite boarding school allegedly downloaded photos from 70 under-age female students’ laptops. And finally, Piet Mondrian is seen as one of the supreme artists of the 20th century. Yet in many ways, he’s as elusive and walled off as his revolutionary paintings. But a new biography pulls back the curtain on the Dutch painter, and its author, Nicholas Fox Weber, will join us to share his insights.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lili Anolik looks at a question that’s always intrigued the literati—what exactly was the nature of the relationship between Joan Didion and her husband, John Gregory Dunne? Then our man in Paris, John von Sothen, reports on one poll that has been quite reliable at predicting the winner of the U.S. presidential election: it’s conducted at Harry’s Bar among expats. And finally, it was 25 years ago that anarchists stormed a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Seattle to protest globalization. At the time, they were seen as left-wing extremists. Yet, as Michael Moynihan tells us, their radical cause has now become a rallying cry for the far right. How did it happen? Michael will explain.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Sam Kashner reveals what happened when a huge luxury yacht owned by Mike Lynch, Britain’s first Internet billionaire, sank in 15 minutes during a freak storm off the coast of Sicily, killing Lynch, his teenage daughter, and five others. Then George Pendle explains why politicians now out-scandalize rock stars. And finally, our own Ashley Baker looks at Noor Alfallah, a 30-year-old woman who has notched relationships with multiple boldface names over the age of 80, including Clint Eastwood, Mick Jagger, and Al Pacino (whose baby she recently had).See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When it was released just over 25 years ago, The Big Lebowski was a flop with critics. Now it is regarded as among the funniest movies ever made, one by which we all, well, abide. Josh Karp tells us how it came to be, the people who inspired it, and those who turned down roles in it. Can you imagine Mel Gibson playing the Dude? It almost happened. Then Melania Trump was in the news this week as her memoir entitled—what else?—Melania was released. Andy Borowitz has read it, and he tells us all about what’s in it. Finally, Katya V. joins us from Moscow with her report on how Putin is fighting one war in Ukraine but another one within Russia and against its citizens.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The presidential election is 31 days away, which means it’s crunch time for the candidates. And we have a special guest who knows all about crunch time and campaigns: political strategist James Carville. He’s the subject of a new documentary called Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid, and he shares his insights on the race, American politics, and more. Then, speaking of politics, there’s no place where they are more mixed up at times than Italy. Mattia Ferraresi joins us from Rome to explain why Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has turned to her big sister for help. Finally, it’s often been said that England and America are two nations separated by a common language. But as Joel Golby reports from London, they’re also separated by morning-television shows. He tells us why America’s morning TV shows are so boring, while their counterparts in the U.K. are so downright bizarre that they can’t help but delight viewers.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Fifty years after Hunter S. Thompson brought us Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, we have a look at a 21st-century Vegas that is unlike anything you could ever imagine. Our writer Darius J. Rubin traveled to Laos, where an opulent casino lies at the heart of a vast human-drug-and-wildlife-trafficking operation, and he shares his report. Then, we all know Elaine May, who was Mike Nichols’s partner in the transformative comedy duo Nichols and May. She’s 92 now and has not retired, and Roger Friedman caught up with her recently over deviled eggs at Sardi’s. And finally, speaking of legendary duos, during World War II, Lee Miller and Dave Scherman were one of the great photojournalistic teams. Their story is now the subject of a new movie, with Kate Winslet portraying Miller and Andy Samberg as Scherman. Scherman’s son Tony shares his memories of his father and Miller and their exploits during the war. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

If you’re still trying to understand what exactly is, or was, a Brat summer, you are not alone. These days, “vibe trends” are increasingly incoherent—whether it is “the strawberry girl summer” or “hot rodent boyfriend.” Fortunately, the always wise Cazzie David joins us to make sense of all the madness. Then, many of you know the tragic story of Dorothy Stratten, the former actress and Playboy Playmate who was murdered by her husband in 1980. It was a horrible ending to her life, and this week her sister, Louise, tells her side of the story. Later, Ravi Somaiya explains how a turf war between rival gangs has turned Sweden into Europe’s most violent country. And finally, the new Labour government in the U.K. wants to hike taxes substantially on the tuition parents pay to put their children in a private school. Ashley Baker has her report on whether the proposed tax will level the playing field or wreck one more of the country’s revered institutions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week, Mark Seal brings us part two of his story about Sergio Pino, the millionaire real-estate developer at the center of a murder case that has shocked the seemingly un-shockable home of bizarre and scandalous crimes: Florida. Then, speaking of scandals: What happens when one of New York’s tony private schools decides that a homeless shelter will take over one of its buildings? Well, the neighborhood’s long-standing liberal pieties are put to the test. Sage Lattman will take us inside the conflict. And finally, we have a special guest. No doubt many of you are fans of the show The West Wing. It’s celebrating its 25th anniversary, and Janel Moloney, who played the idealistic assistant Donna Moss, joins us.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.