Scandals
The Lede
How the Oscar Race Got as Messy as “Conclave”
As in the movie, a succession of mini-scandals has threatened to derail one Best Picture contender after another.
By Michael Schulman
The Political Scene
Will Trump’s Crimes Matter on the Campaign Trail?
The former President has faced two impeachments and countless accusations of public and private wrongdoing. Yet his approval rating is pretty much unchanged.
By Benjamin Wallace-Wells
Profiles
The Button-Pushing Impresario of Balenciaga
How Demna engineered the rise—and near-fall—of the luxury fashion house.
By Lauren Collins
Campaign Chronicles
Will Republicans Who Have Soured on Trump Turn Out for Herschel Walker?
With the Senate not in play, some conservatives fear that Walker won’t inspire voters. “I think a lot of people’s consciences will allow them to, like me, stay home,” one said.
By Charles Bethea
Our Columnists
Boris Johnson Survives, for Now
Many observers, including a number of Conservatives, think that his premiership has been holed below the waterline.
By John Cassidy
Daily Comment
Boris Johnson’s Christmas from Hell
The “partygate” scandal, stemming from allegations that the Prime Minister’s office held a holiday get-together last year, while Britain was under a strict lockdown, has roiled the government.
By Anna Russell
Our Local Correspondents
The Code of Chris and Andrew Cuomo
Newly released documents show that the CNN anchor, who was suspended by the cable news network on Tuesday, was closely involved in efforts to defend his brother.
By Eric Lach
American Chronicles
Fatty Arbuckle and the Birth of the Celebrity Scandal
A murder charge, a media frenzy, a banishment, and accusations of sexual abuse in Hollywood. What can the Arbuckle affair, now a hundred years old, teach us today?
By Michael Schulman
Downfall Dept.
Cuomo on the Brink of Impeachment
In the new report on sexual-harassment allegations against him, the Governor comes off as a combination of Howard Stern, Colonel Kurtz, and Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone.”
By Nick Paumgarten
Profiles
Wendy Williams Dishes the Dirt
The daytime gossip queen has tussled with P. Diddy, Whitney Houston, and Tupac Shakur. But her own private life can be as messy as the celebrity dramas she skewers.
By Michael Schulman
Letter from Glasgow
Nicola Sturgeon’s Quest for Scottish Independence
The country’s leader asks voters which kind of society they prefer to live in: Brexit Britain or a social-democratic Scotland.
By Sam Knight
Comment
The G.O.P.’s Matt Gaetz Problem
It’s tempting to see the Gaetz affair as the last shudder of the era of Donald Trump, but the political culture that the two men represent won’t easily be swept away.
By Amy Davidson Sorkin
Our Local Correspondents
The Sound and the Fury of Andrew Cuomo
Assemblyman Ron Kim was bathing his children when he got an unexpected call from the governor.
By Eric Lach
Letter from Trump’s Washington
Denialism, Dishonesty, Deflection: The Final Days of the Trump Campaign Have It All
The President is ending his reëlection bid with scandals that call into question the legitimacy of next week’s vote.
By Susan B. Glasser
Cultural Comment
Ellen DeGeneres’s Relatability Crisis
The talk-show host was a pioneer, but her brand has taken one hit after another.
By Michael Schulman
On Television
The Dizzying Meta-Narratives of “Quiz”
The show tells the story of the real-life “coughing scandal,” in which a couple cheated its way to a million pounds on “Millionaire,” using that most British of weapons: the pointed cough.
By Anna Russell
The Sporting Scene
Is Stealing Baseball Signs Really So Bad? Bobby Valentine Has Some Thoughts
The longtime manager says that the game’s most dramatic scandal in decades makes too big a deal about the teams that got caught while turning a blind eye to the many who get away with it.
By Zach Helfand
The Sporting Scene
The Unseen Student Victims of the “Varsity Blues” College-Admissions Scandal
How two high-school tennis teammates had their collegiate dreams upended.
By Daniel Golden and Doris Burke