CATEGORIES

THE CHOOSING ONES

The saga of my Jewish conversion began twenty-five years ago, when I got engaged to my first husband.

CHOPPED AND STEWED

The other day, at a Nigerian restaurant called Safari, in Houston, Texas, I peeled back the plastic wrap on a ball of fufu, a staple across West Africa.

HELLO, HEARTBREAK

Heartbreak cures are as old as time, or at least as old as the Common Era.

NOTE TO SELVES

The Sonoran Desert, which covers much of the southwestern United States, is a vast expanse of arid earth where cartoonish entities-roadrunners, tumbleweeds, telephone-pole-tall succulents make occasional appearances.

PRIMORDIAL SORROW

\"All Life Long,\" the title of the most recent album by the composer and organist Kali Malone, is taken from a poem by the British Symbolist author Arthur Symons: \"The heart shall be weary and wonder and cry like the sea,/ All life long crying without avail,/As the water all night long is crying to me.\"

TOUCH WOOD

What do people do all day? My daughter loves to read Richard Scarry's book of that title, though she generally skips ahead to the hospital pages.

Neighborhood News: The Blockbuster Banana

Maurizio Cattelan's 2019 art-prank piece sells for $6.24 million at Sotheby's, becomes snack.

Power: Kerry Howley

Revenge Does Take Time' What it's like to be on Trump's enemies list.

REASON TO LOVE NEW YORK

THERE'S NOT MUCH in New York that has staying power. Every other day, a new scandal outscandals whatever we were just scandalized by; every few years, a hotter, scarier downtown set emerges; the yoga studio up the block from your apartment that used to be a coffee shop has now become a hybrid drug front and yarn store.

Nicole Kidman Lets Loose

She's having a grand old time playing wealthy matriarchs on the verge of blowing their lives up.

Disunion: Ingrid Rojas Contreras

A Rift in the Family My in-laws gave me a book by a eugenicist. Our relationship is over.

How Mike Myers Makes His Own Reality

Directing him in Austin Powers taught me what it means to be really, truly funny.

Keeping It Simple on Lower Fifth

Jack Ceglic and Manuel Fernandez-Casteleiro's apartment is full of stories but not distractions.

The Big Macher Restaurant Is Back

ON A WARM NIGHT in October, a red carpet ran down a length of East 26th Street.

The Art of Surrender

Four decades into his career, Willem Dafoe is more curious about his craft than ever.

Gwen Whiting

Two years after a mass recall and a bacterial outbreak, the founder of the Laundress is on cleanup duty.

Showing Its Age

Borgo displays a confidence that can he only from experience.

Enchanting and Exhausting

Wicked makes a charming but bloated film.

BRING THE OUTDOORS IN

Making a terrarium is about as close as you can get to a Zen DIY project. Once you have gathered the proper materials and squared away your plant selections, it's as simple as layering it all together and watching your mini ecosystem thrive. Here, I'll walk you through my foolproof process and cover all the required elements for good filtration, healthy soil, strong root growth and resistance against fungus and disease.

Winter MAGIC

Forecasts may be frigid, but grab your binoculars because birding opportunities are still incredible

GROW THIS. NOT THAT

Six easy-to-grow houseplants—and six that may not be the right choice for you

Social and Supportive

Brown-headed nuthatches take a helpful approach to raising their young

Basics of Hydroponics

Use these top tips and plant picks to have a successful soil-free garden

Rooted in Resilience

These hardy perennials will thrive in most zones

All About Owl Pellets

And why you should give a hoot about them

Ask the Experts

Advice from our pros about houseplants, bird feeding and more

HOW ONE KENTUCKY TOWN SAVED ITSELF

Downtown Hazard had lost its small-town mojo to drugs. Former addicts are helping to bring it back.

Cookies for Forgiveness

My blowup was half-baked. The apology wasn't

THE GREAT INFLATABLES RACE

In these neighborhoods, holiday cheer is blowing up-literally

New Year's Traditions Around the World

1 MOST OF US spend the final seconds of each calendar year watching a nearly 12,000-pound geodesic sphere descend over Times Square in New York City.