Times editors have handpicked 10 stories (and one podcast) for you to enjoy. Welcome to The Weekender.
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The Stratospheric Rise of Lionel Messi’s Pink Jersey
In the span of three months, the soccer superstar has made Inter Miami’s eye-catching jersey the hottest piece of sports merchandise on the planet.
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Were the Fake Trump Signs a Prank? Or a Political Dirty Trick?
The placards were up in a wealthy town for less than a day. The fight over them lasted years.
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From Serial Productions: “The Kids of Rutherford County”
For over a decade, one Tennessee country was arresting and illegally jailing hundreds of children. A new podcast series reveals how this came to be — and what it would take to stop it.
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Is Roz Chast ‘Terrible at Decorating’? You Decide.
The New Yorker cartoonist has trouble making decisions about décor. Anyone who has seen her art collection may not notice.
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Cities Foster Serendipity. But Can They Do It When Workers Are at Home?
Revisiting a theory about chance collisions and innovation.
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Cher on Her First Christmas LP, a New Beau and 25 Years of ‘Believe’
The superstar talks about finding her recording voice again and getting Stevie Wonder to appear on her new holiday album.
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Stone by Ancient Stone, Mexico Recovers Its Lost Treasures
In recent years Mexico has mounted an ambitious series of investigations to correct decades of theft and colonial plundering.
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If You Can Take the Cable Car to the Colosseum, You’re in Vietnam
The country is in the middle of a cable-car bonanza.
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The Taylor and Travis Fan Fiction That’s Tearing TikTok Apart
“Roughing the Princess,” an erotic e-book inspired by an actual relationship, veered too close to reality for many of Taylor Swift’s fans.
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Baaba Maal’s Dakar
The Senegalese singer-songwriter known for the “Black Panther” films recommends sites to see.
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A Professional Pumpkin Carver Spills His Guts
Adam Bierton is allergic to pumpkins, but that doesn’t stop him from carving dozens each fall.
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Thanks for reading. I’ll see you next weekend.
This edition of The Weekender was edited by Jonathan Wolfe.